Résumé
Using a large sample of 24,825 firm-year observations of French non-listed SMEs from 2003 to2016, we investigate the drivers of SMEs’ bank leverage choices. To do so, we use a quantileregression modeling in distinguishing between different quantiles of the bank leveragedistribution. Furthermore, we apply this approach for three different sub-periods in order toinvestigate the impact of the global financial crisis. The analysis leads to several interestingfindings. In particular, they reveal that drivers of the bank leverage level vary in function of thebank leverage distribution and of time. These results contribute to clarify the mixed results ofprevious research in this field. They also show indicate that the pecking order theory is suitable toFrench SMEs for which the performance is the most important determinant of the bankingleverage.