Research On The Effects Of Bank Branch Distribution On Financing Constraints Of SMEs

As an important pillar of China’s sustainable economic development,small and medium-sized enterprises have long been limited by financing constraints.Commercial banks are the core of China’s financial system,and bank credit funds are the main source of external financing for small and medium-sized enterprises.As a grass-roots unit operated by banking financial institutions,commercial bank outlets face customers directly,deal with customers,and are the basis for absorbing customers,maintaining customer relationships and developing customers.With the reform of the banking industry and economic development,the number of bank branches in China is increasing,the spatial distribution between different types of commercial banks shows significant differen ces,and the layout of bank branches in different regions also shows significant differences,affecting the distribution of financial resources.In the context of the country’s vigorous development of inclusive finance,the systematic assessment of the distribution of bank outlets and clarification of whether bank physical outlets can improve the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises to obtain credit resources and the efficiency of bank credit resource allocation are of positive practical significance for deepening banking reform and solving the financing problems of small and medium-sized enterprises,and supporting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.This paper will discuss the impact of changes in the distribution of bank branches on the financing constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises from the perspective of financial resource supply,and try to put forward feasible suggestions from the perspective of the layout of bank outlets to alleviate the financing constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises.Based on the theory of information asymmetry,transaction cost theory,optimal order financing theory and optimal financial structure theor y,this paper analyzes the impact mechanism of bank branch distribution on the financing constraints of smes.In the empirical section,based on 2016 —2020 The relevant data of bank outlets and enterprises in this year construct the data of neighboring bank outlets at the enterprise level,count the number of bank outlets in the vicinity of enterprises and the shortest distance between enterprises and bank outlets,and use the cash-cash flow sensitivity model to analyze the impact and mechanism of bank branc h distribution on the financing constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises.The empirical results show that the increase in the number of bank outlets in a certain range near the enterprise significantly reduces the financing constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises,but there is a certain lag.Heterogeneity analysis shows that compared with non-manufacturing enterprises and state-owned enterprises,manufacturing enterprises and non-state-owned enterprises are more significantly affected by the change in the number of bank outlets,indicating that the layout of bank outlets can affect the discrimination and ownership discrimination of the credit industry;compared with large commercial banks,the change of bank branches of small and medium-sized banks has a more significant effect on the easing of financing constraints for small and medium-sized enterprises.After the robustness test,the conclusion is still true.In summary,this paper puts forward feasible suggestions from five aspects: improve and optimize the spatial layout of bank financial outlets,increase the layout of bank branches around enterprises;comprehensively use financial technology to improve the efficiency of banking services;relax the access regulations for the branch market of small and medium-sized banks,further increase the supply of small and medium-sized financial institutions,and stimulate competition in the banking industry;continue to promote the structural reform of the financial supply side,create a fair operating environment,improve market information transparency and rule of law;develop multi-level capital markets,Provide diversified and differentiated financing channels for enterprises to alleviate the financing constraints of enterprises.