Access To Bank Credit And Sme Financing (palgrave Macmillan Studies In Banking And Financial Institutions)

This book explores how the global financial and European sovereign debt crises have forced small-and-medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to reassess and adapt their funding strategies. At the heart of the matter is the worsening access to bank credit for such enterprises. Through this discussion we learn how crucial an understanding of SME-financing is to policy makers, in light of the fact that SMEs dominate the business landscape in Europe and are the main drivers of employment, growth and innovation in the European economy. Contributing chapters present expert analysis and investigate many topics including the problems faced by SMEs in accessing bank credit and the cost of funding and its determinants. Particular attention is also given to how credit-constrained enterprises may reformulate their funding strategies by employing alternative, non-bank, financial resources, and how regulators could support SMEs in broadening and improving their funding opportunities. Front Matter....Pages i-xxx Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Non-Bank Financing for Euro Area Companies During the Crisis....Pages 3-28 Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be! Loan Application and Credit Decision for Young European Firms....Pages 29-58 Legal-Institutional Environment, Social Capital and the Cost of Bank Financing for SMEs: Evidence from the Euro Area....Pages 59-81 Credit Access for Small Firms in the Euro Area: Does Gender Matter?....Pages 83-119 The Small Firm Financing Premium in Europe: Where and When Do Small Firms Pay the Most?....Pages 121-147 Sovereign and Bank CDS Spreads During the European Debt Crisis: Laying the Foundation for SMEs’ Financial Distress....Pages 149-172 SME Sources of Funding: More Capital or More Debt to Sustain Growth? An Empirical Analysis....Pages 173-199 Front Matter....Pages 201-201 SME Credit Access After Basel III. Does Size (and Quality) Matter?....Pages 203-224 Credit Supply and Bank Interest Rates in the Italian Regions....Pages 225-255 Corporate Bonds for SMEs: A Study of Italian Minibonds....Pages 257-285 Using Open-End Mutual Fund Resources to Finance SMEs: The Potential Market Share of ELTIFs....Pages 287-311 Back Matter....Pages 313-332