ABSTRACT
The purpose of the study is to analyze the impact of financial regulations imposed by Basel III on commercial banks’ lending in Pakistan. The study is based on an empirical analysis of quarterly bank-specific and macroeconomic data from 2017 to 2020 using the dynamic two-step system Generalized Method of Moments technique. The study found that Risk-Based Capital buffer and bank stable liquidity position has a significant and negative relationship with bank lending to private sector. Furthermore, banks need to improve asset quality as low asset quality means higher credit risk which reduces the amount of funds available for further lending. On the contrary, higher profitability and market share in terms of deposits tend to increase bank lending. Macroeconomic variables such as interest rate and GDP growth were found to behave similarly as defined in traditional economic theories.
