Credit Rationing for Moroccan SMEs: Banking Constraints and Financing Characteristics in Casablanca - Settat region

Abstract

Moroccan SMEs, which are closely linked to banking institutions to obtain the financing needed for their projects, often find themselves in a situation where these sources of financing are not easily accessible. Indeed, access to credit is often difficult for these categories of companies that are frequently confronted with the phenomenon of total and partial credit rationing. Among the causes of this problem, we can cite the somewhat opaque nature of their information system and their inability to comply with bank financing conditions compared to large companies. This article aims to shed light on the relationship between restrictive bank clauses, including the availability of guarantees, the characteristics of the credit requested and the credit rationing of SMEs in the CASABLANCA-SETTAT region. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 218 SMEs in the same region. Contingency and simple regression tests show that the lack of guarantees is a direct cause of total and partial credit rationing, particularly for small businesses that need significant financing.