Bank Lending Technologies and SME Credit Rationing in Europe in the 2009 Crisis

Abstract

The first wave of the global financial crisis hit Europe in the last part of 2008 and through 2009. With banks in a tailspin, credit rationing intensified – as measured in various different ways – particularly for the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The extent of such retrenchment in the supply of credit could reflect not only the worsened general condition of the European banks but also vary at the micro level depending on the lending technologies being used in the SME-main bank rapport. Using the EFIGE database, we examine SME credit rationing in seven EU countries (Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and the UK) and try to assess the extent to which differences in the lending technologies and in the status of the firm-main bank relationship contributed to the phenomenon.