Credit Crunch or Loan Demand Shortage: What Is the Problem With the SMEs? Financing?

GUERCIO, M. BELEN; MARTINEZ, LISANA B.; BARIVIERA, AURELIO FERNANDEZ; SCHERGER, VALERIA

Czech Journal of Economics and Finance

Charles University

Año: 2021

0015-1920

The aim of this paper is tostudy the determinants of bank loan applications and financial access of smalland medium enterprises from 2013 to 2015. We applied binary and ordered logitmodels to a sample of 27.811 firms from 37 countries from the Survey on the Accessto Finance of Enterprises (SAFE). We provided evidence that larger firms andthose belonging to the industry sector are more likely to apply for and obtainbank loans. A puzzling result was found regarding the matter of innovation. Itis relevant for both application and access to bank loans, but in oppositeways: innovation boosts external finance applications but hampers actualfinancial access. Furthermore, the use of retained earnings enhances financialapplication and the effective financial access. This could indicate thatinternal funds are complementary, rather than substitutes in the firms?financial structure. The results of the study are relevant to improve policiesof SMEs access to finance in the European context.