LAUSR

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between rural banks’ efficiency and their lending provision for micro and small businesses (MSBs) in West Java Indonesia. Rural banks are special banks that are generally located in the district and sub-district areas and they are very involved in providing loans to MSBs. Design/methodology/approach The study includes 212 rural banks in various districts in West Java province over the 2012–2016 period. Data envelopment analysis is employed to obtain banks’ technical efficiency and panel data analysis is used to reveal the impact of rural banks’ efficiency on their loan provision to MSBs. Findings The findings reveal that technical efficiency of the rural banks has a significant positive impact on their loan provision to MSBs in West Java Indonesia. These results have underscored the importance of rural banks in maintaining and increasing their bank efficiency levels to enhance their capacity in providing loans to MSBs. Practical implications The results of this study have brought some implications for practitioners (rural bank management) to maintain and improve their efficiency in order to expand their capacity to lend to MSBs. The roles of Otoritas Jasa Keuangan or the Indonesia Financial Services Authority in monitoring the efficiency of rural banks and overseeing the provision of their loans to MSBs are also very necessary in ensuring good performance of rural banks in terms of both aspects, respectively. Social implications This study highlights the importance of rural banks in providing loans to MSB segments. The contribution of rural banks in stimulating the development of MSBs is believed to be able to produce positive social implications in terms of empowering the economic and social life of MSBs in their local communities. Originality/value The study fills the literature gap by revealing a significant relationship between bank efficiency and loan provision for MSBs in the context of rural banks.