Capital structure is one of the most discussed issues these days and the

management is encouraged to adopt the best combination of debt and

equity to increase the firms value and investors benefits.
According to Claessens et al. (2002) firms may get advantage from corporate
governance by approaching to capital and money market, lower cost of debt
and better performance. Its variables like board size, structure etc may also
have impact on strategic decisions like external financing.
Credit ratings are also a major factor of capital structure Kisgen (2006)
stated that mangers adjust capital on the basis of credit ratings.
The paper discussed these effects of these factors on capital structure after
2008 financial crisis.
Data of listed companies of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and large
companies in Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) because of ease of finding data.
The majority of firms are owned by controlling shareholders that are involved
in firms management.
Wen et al. (2002) found positive relationship between board size and leverage.
Abor (2007) showed in firms with higher leverage have relatively more outside
directors, while firms with a low percentage of outside directors experience lower
leverage so there is negative relationship. (Fama and French 2002); Bevan and
Danbolt 2004; Sogorb-Mira 2005; Lopez-Gracia and Sogorb-Mira 2008; showed
positive relationship between firm size and leverage. Degryse et al. (2012), PalacinSanchez et al. (2013) and Mateev et al. (2013) stated negative relationship between
debt and profitability both for SMEs and large firms.
The objective of the study is to assess the capital structure behavior before and
after the eruption of the financial crisis that severely affected all Greek companies.
Also, investigate whether corporate credit quality, as measured by credit ratings,
affects capital structure. To analyze the differential effects that corporate
governance and firm-specific factors might have on the capital structure of SMEs
and large firms. Moreover, examine whether capital structure bases changed during
the global financial crisis of 2008.
The sample consists of 231 SMEs and large firms from 2005-10 in which 130 are
SMEs and 101 are large firms. Panel data is used using Ordinary Least Square
(OLS).
The results showed a mix of positive and negative results among the variables some
were highly significant and some were not at all. Some results were positive and
other was negatively correlated.

Among the limitations of the study are those corporate governance variables
not included like CEO compensation, CEO tenure, audit fees and nominating
committees that might have an effect on capital structure. A multi-country

analysis of all issues tackled in the current study would allow for the
appropriate generalizations of findings.