By lending to SMEs at low geographical distance, banks can realise competitive advantage due to enhanced access to soft information that allows the better screening of firms. As especially regional banks lend at a low distance, the decentralised German banking system is deemed ideal for SME...

Die dezentralen Sparkassen und Kreditgenossenschaften in Deutschland gelten als prädestinierter Finanzpartner von KMU. Jedoch werden Zweifel an der Bedeutung und Zukunftsfähigkeit dieser mehr als 1.400 kleinen und regionalen Banken geäußert. Exemplarisch zeigen wir auf, dass dezentrale...

We examine the link between corporate financing and investment decisions of European firms by using a novel firm-level survey of the European Investment Bank (EIBIS). The survey provides rich quantitative information of a wide range of financing sources and tangible and intangible investment...

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in Asian economies as they contribute to high shares of employment and output. However, SMEs generally have limited access to finance compared to large enterprises. Given the bank-dominated financial systems in Asia, banks are the...

Recent regulatory efforts aim at lowering the cyclicality of bank lending because of its potential detrimental effects on financial stability and the real economy. We investigate the cyclicality of SME lending by local banks with vs. without a public mandate, controlling for location, size, loan...

The entire venture capital sector of Central and Eastern Europe is characterised by the increased weight of state resources. The strengthening of public activities is mainly due to the new type of equity schemes introduced in the European Union's 2007 to 2013 programming period, which allowed...

The entire venture capital sector of Central and Eastern Europe is characterised by the increased weight of state resources. The strengthening of public activities is mainly due to the new type of equity schemes introduced in the European Union's 2007 to 2013 programming period, which allowed...

The entire venture capital sector of Central and Eastern Europe is characterised by the increased weight of state resources. The strengthening of public activities is mainly due to the new type of equity schemes introduced in the European Union's 2007 to 2013 programming period, which allowed...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) stimulate domestic demand through job creation, innovation, and competition; thus, they can be a driving force behind a resilient national economy. In addition, SMEs involved in global production supply chains have the potential to encourage international...