Basel capital requirements, portfolio shift and bank lending in Africa

Abstract

Bank lending is a major source of income for a bank. Compliance with higher Basel capital requirements (CAR) portends serious implication for distribution of loan portfolio across different sectors. The objective of the study is to examine African banks’ responses to higher CAR in terms of portfolio shift. The study used descriptive statistics and ANOVA for panel data of African commercial banks that have implemented Basel II or III CAR for the period 2000 and 2018. Based on the results of our analysis, implementation of higher Basel CAR by African banks revealed four key findings. Firstly, our results suggest that higher Basel CAR particularly Basel III reduced total loans for South African banks. Secondly, African banks engage in portfolio shift with higher Basel levels. Thirdly, higher Basel capital increased banks' capital ratios in Africa, but some banks are still characterized by low equity. Fourthly, African banks reduce lending to high risk-weighted loans such as real estate and commercial loans except for South African banks which increased lending to commercial loans with higher Basel CAR. Lastly, this study proffers key insight into the lending behaviour of African banks with the implementation of higher Basel CAR.