Abstract

This study focused on developing an insight into the decision making process which lenders employ in granting loans to SME borrowers. Questionnaires were administered on selected bank branch managers of conventional banks, rural banks and savings and loans companies. Findings from this study has brought to the fore some interesting revelations. The results indicated that when loan managers are deciding on whether to accept or reject an SME loan application, intended purpose of loan, repayment of previous loan, repayment schedule, type of business activity, size of loan relative to size of business and availability of collateral, ranked highest on their criteria list. On the contrary, CVs of clients, government guarantee of loans, charges on assets and gearing ranked lowest on the criteria list in terms of importance. The relevant factors identified in this study showed that lenders took particular interest in risk when dealing with SMEs. This is not out of place, as every business seeks to make profit and thus they need to be sure of recouping their monies when they lend them out to small businesses. It is thus very necessary for SME borrowers to develop an understanding of the decision criteria used by financial institutions in order to increase the probability of getting their loan request approved by fulfilling the required criteria adequately.

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