As, in accordance with the acting banking regulations in Bulgaria bank are required to take collateral, the prior is that, in the case of proper screening, there would be a positive association between bank lending and the fixed capital ratio. Size is another variable that would allow to test the credit channel hypothesis. The prior is that a credit squeeze is more likely to affect smaller firms. Several variables reflect the specificity of bank lending in a transitional environment. Ownership is assumed to be associated with governance and thus should capture the way governance affects banks’ lending decisions. The presence.
