Is the Leverage of Turkish Banks Procyclical?

This study examines the relation between leverage and asset growth in the Turkish banking sector, and finds that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between these two variables. This result indicates that the leverage ratio increases when there is positive asset growth, hence the leverage is procyclical. In addition, this relationship differs according to the business models of the banks. Procyclicality of the leverage indicates that expansion and contraction of bank balance sheets accelerate credit cycles implying that bank leverage and business cycles are related. Consistent with the predictions in the corporate finance literature, we find that balance sheet size and profits significantly affect the leverage. To decompose leverage, we also document that banks use non-deposits and deposits as substitutes during our sample period, and the leverage cycles and balance sheet expansions are highly correlated with non-deposit and non-core liabilities. In this sense, it is useful to include the leverage ratio in the counter-cyclical macroprudential policy tools kit.