Table 5 Summary of the thematic review... | Emerald Publishing

Table 5

Summary of the thematic review of the recent NPL literature

S/N	Major themes	Findings in the theme	Studies
1	Bank-specific determinants of NPL	Loan growth; net interest margin; loan loss provision; bank diversification; operating efficiency; bank size; bank profit; interest rate; capital adequacy ratio; return on equity; return on asset; liquidity ratio; bank business model; corporate governance	Ahmed et al. (2021), Ciukaj and Kil (2020), Khan et al. (2020), Ristić and Jemović (2021), Kryzanowski et al. (2023), Pancotto et al. (2024), Nguyen (2024), Erdas and Ezanoglu (2022), Tarchouna et al. (2022), Farnè and Vouldis (2024), Msomi (2022), Kjosevski and Petkovski (2021)
2	External determinants of NPL	Exchange rate; economic growth; GDP; the lending rate; inflation rate; unemployment rate; the economic environment; loose financial conditions; public debt; economic policy uncertainty; current account balance; real house prices; sovereign debt; money supply; political risk; fintech inputs; the systemic risk status of the bank; the COVID-19 pandemic; the independence and transparency of the central bank; the fintech era; the size of shadow banking activity; financial inclusion; country risks; governmental ineffectiveness; and regulatory quality	Nathan et al. (2020), Nguyen (2024), Erdas and Ezanoglu (2022), Msomi (2022), Ristić and Jemović (2021), Gamba-Santamaria et al. (2024), Foglia (2022), Karadima and Louri (2021), Staehr and Uusküla (2021) Anita et al. (2022), Kryzanowski et al. (2023), Wang et al. (2023), Mamoon et al. (2025), Isayev and Farooq (2024), Ozili and Adamu (2021), Ahiase et al. (2024), Ozili (2020)
3	Effect of NPL on bank lending	High NPL decreases bank lending. It decreases lending to the real economy after the global financial crisis	Tölö and Virén (2021), Gjeçi et al. (2023), Serrano (2021), Ahmed et al. (2024)
4	Effect of NPL on bank performance	High NPL decreases the return on equity, the profitability or financial performance of banks. It also decreases bank efficiency	Lawrence et al. (2024), Kumari et al. (2024), Iqbal and Saeed (2023), Duong et al. (2023), Phung et al. (2022)
5	Effect of NPL on financial stability	High NPL increases financial instability, financial distress and it leads to higher loan loss provisions	Kulu and Osei (2024), Sain and Kashiramka (2023), Alnabulsi et al. (2023b), Elfergani et al. (2024)
6	Effect of NPL on the wider economy	High NPL leads to a decrease in foreign direct investment inflow, decline in real GDP growth, low levels of financial inclusion	Alam et al. (2024), Huljak et al. (2022), Zhang et al. (2022)

S/N	Major themes	Findings in the theme	Studies
1	Bank-specific determinants of NPL	Loan growth; net interest margin; loan loss provision; bank diversification; operating efficiency; bank size; bank profit; interest rate; capital adequacy ratio; return on equity; return on asset; liquidity ratio; bank business model; corporate governance	Ahmed et al. (2021), Ciukaj and Kil (2020), Khan et al. (2020), Ristić and Jemović (2021), Kryzanowski et al. (2023), Pancotto et al. (2024), Nguyen (2024), Erdas and Ezanoglu (2022), Tarchouna et al. (2022), Farnè and Vouldis (2024), Msomi (2022), Kjosevski and Petkovski (2021)
2	External determinants of NPL	Exchange rate; economic growth; GDP; the lending rate; inflation rate; unemployment rate; the economic environment; loose financial conditions; public debt; economic policy uncertainty; current account balance; real house prices; sovereign debt; money supply; political risk; fintech inputs; the systemic risk status of the bank; the COVID-19 pandemic; the independence and transparency of the central bank; the fintech era; the size of shadow banking activity; financial inclusion; country risks; governmental ineffectiveness; and regulatory quality	Nathan et al. (2020), Nguyen (2024), Erdas and Ezanoglu (2022), Msomi (2022), Ristić and Jemović (2021), Gamba-Santamaria et al. (2024), Foglia (2022), Karadima and Louri (2021), Staehr and Uusküla (2021) Anita et al. (2022), Kryzanowski et al. (2023), Wang et al. (2023), Mamoon et al. (2025), Isayev and Farooq (2024), Ozili and Adamu (2021), Ahiase et al. (2024), Ozili (2020)
3	Effect of NPL on bank lending	High NPL decreases bank lending. It decreases lending to the real economy after the global financial crisis	Tölö and Virén (2021), Gjeçi et al. (2023), Serrano (2021), Ahmed et al. (2024)
4	Effect of NPL on bank performance	High NPL decreases the return on equity, the profitability or financial performance of banks. It also decreases bank efficiency	Lawrence et al. (2024), Kumari et al. (2024), Iqbal and Saeed (2023), Duong et al. (2023), Phung et al. (2022)
5	Effect of NPL on financial stability	High NPL increases financial instability, financial distress and it leads to higher loan loss provisions	Kulu and Osei (2024), Sain and Kashiramka (2023), Alnabulsi et al. (2023b), Elfergani et al. (2024)
6	Effect of NPL on the wider economy	High NPL leads to a decrease in foreign direct investment inflow, decline in real GDP growth, low levels of financial inclusion	Alam et al. (2024), Huljak et al. (2022), Zhang et al. (2022)

Source(s): Summary of author’s regional review of literature