Determinants of non-performing loans: What do we know? A systematic review and avenues for future research

This paper presents a systematic literature review of 44 studies on determinants of non-performing loans (NPL) published for the period 1987 to 2017 in 30 peer-reviewed journals. The motivation for this analysis is twofold. First, the NPL-issue is attributed high relevance by policy makers such as the European Central Bank and is currently addressed with a variety of measures. Any policy response requires deep understanding of the underlying determinants. Second, availability of data in the NPL-sector expanded, allowing scholars for more sophisticated research. Presenting novel interpretation, I synthesize the literature according to three broad, yet overlapping themes: macroeconomic events, bank- and loan-specific factors. Using an open coding process, the literature is diligently analyzed in 13 subcategories. The results reveal that the interaction of loan and asset specific events with macroeconomic and bank-specific factors still lacks a deep understanding and deserves for additional empirical research. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.