Determinants of Foreign Currency Loans in CESEE Countries: A Meta-Analysis

In this paper, we analyze the growing literature on determinants of foreign currency loans in the countries of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE), applying a metaregression approach. We consider the seven most common determinants presented in the literature and aim at obtaining a more clear-cut picture behind various effects related to differences in methods and data characteristics. In our meta-analysis we apply two alternative estimation methods and identify exchange rate volatility, foreign currency deposits and the minimum variance portfolio (i.e. the ratio of inflation volatility to real exchange rate volatility) as the most robust determinants of foreign currency loans. Our findings indicate that the results reported in the literature are systematically influenced by model specification, the econometric methodology applied and the country samples included in the papers.