"The authors propose a more complete conceptual framework for analysis of credit availability for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In this framework, lending technologies are the key conduit through which government policies and national financial structures affect credit availability. They...

Large and foreign-owned institutions may have difficulty extending relationship loans to informationally opaque small firms. Bank distress does not appear to affect small business lending, although even small firms may react to bank distress by borrowing from multiple banks

Policymakers in Malaysia should weigh the distributional consequences of policy actions. They should also consider measures to alleviate the disproportionate impact that market imperfections have on small and medium-size industries