Comparison of loan default : participation versus conventional banks in Turkey

Abstract

In this study, I compare the default rates of firm loans issued by participation and conventional banks operating in Turkey by using survival analysis techniques for the period January 2011 - December 2012. Banks provided more than 4 million loans to firms during this period. I find that participation loans are more likely to default, controlling for borrower, loan and bank characteristics. However, loans of firms working with only participation banks are less prone to default compared to loans of firms working with both participation and conventional banks. The default rate of participation loans are found to be higher than that of conventional loans for the firm that borrows from both type of banks. Loans are less likely to default during Ramadan. It is found that large firm loans survive longer in cities where the population is high, where there are proportionately more mosques and more Al-Quran course participants per population.