文档介绍:1 Title: Future of SME finance ( s/pos_papers/2004/041027_SME- c ) Background – the environment for SME finance has changed Future economic recovery will depend on the possibility of Crafts, Trades and SMEs to exploit their potential for growth and employment creation. SMEs make a major contribution to growth and employment in the EU and are at the heart of the Lisbon Strategy, whose main objective is to turn Europe into the petitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. However, the ability of SMEs to grow depends highly on their potential to invest in restructuring, innovation and qualification. All of these investments need capital and therefore access to finance. Against this background the consistently plaint of SMEs about their problems regarding access to finance isa highly relevant constraint that endangers the economic recovery of Europe. Changes in the finance sector influence the behavior of credit institutes towards Crafts, Trades and SMEs. Recent and ongoing developments in the banking sector add to the concerns of SMEs and will further endanger their access to finance. The main changes in the banking sector which influence SME finance are: ? Globalization and internationalization have increased petition and the profit orientation in the sector; ? worsening of the economic situations in some institutes (burst of the ITC bubble, insolvencies) strengthen the focus on profitability further; ? Mergers and restructuring created larger structures and many local branches, which had direct and personalized contacts with small enterprises, were closed; ? ing implementation of new capital adequacy rules (Basel II) will also change SME business of the credit sector and will increase its administrative costs; ? Stricter interpretation of State-Aide Rules by the mission eliminates the support of banks by public guarantees; many of the effected banks are very active in SME finance. All these changes result ina higher sensitivity for risks