Abstract Paradoxically, a plethora of empirical evidence in the traditional banking industry claims that smaller loans are associated with higher risk and the exact opposite is true for large loans. In this study we investigate these claims by estimating the relationship between loan sizes and credit risk in the microfinance industry. The sample used for our analysis incorporates over 2000 annual observations, and 632 microfinance institutions drawn from 37 countries of the sub-Saharan African (SSA) region over the period 1995 to 2013. Using the GMM technique, our estimates indicate that credit risk is positively related to loan sizes among microfinance institutions operating in SSA. Our findings have significant implications for the portfolio managers of microfinance institutions operating in SSA, particularly in light of the current wave of mobile money services in many countries.

中文翻译：

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小额信贷行业的信用风险：来自撒哈拉以南非洲的证据

摘要自相矛盾的是，传统银行业的大量经验证据表明，较小的贷款与较高的风险相关，而与之相反的是，对于大型贷款确实如此。在这项研究中，我们通过估算小额信贷行业中的贷款规模与信用风险之间的关系来调查这些索赔。我们用于分析的样本包括1995年至2013年期间来自撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）地区37个国家的2000多项年度观察和632个小额信贷机构。使用GMM技术，我们的估算表明，信贷风险为正与在SSA中运营的小额信贷机构的贷款规模有关。我们的发现对在SSA中运营的小额信贷机构的投资组合经理具有重大意义，