Determinants of the level of indebtedness of Peruvian companies listed: empirical evidence for the period 2001-2007

Abstract

This paper examines a number of reasons and arguments about the relative importance of many factors in the leverage decisions of publicly traded Peruvian non-financial firms from 2001 to 2007. In addition, the study uses a database of 710 non-financial firms from 2005 to 2007 to validate the preview results. This last database represents a commercial debtors’ portfolio for the entire bank system.

The underlying assumption is the favorable economic context that has taken place in Peru. Moreover, since 1990 there has been a commercial and financial liberalization as well as a deepening of the financial markets. Castillo, Montoro and Tuesta (2006) verify an important change in the Peruvian economic framework. Therefore, the investigation of the leverage decisions’ determinants turns necessary in this new context.

Finally, we identify that the most influential factors for those Peruvian companies, who traded in the Bolsa de Valores de Lima (BVL), are size (-), profits (-), cost of debt (-), maturity (-), stock control (-) and risk (-).