Spanish banks are focused on their customers, providing them with all the financing they need under the best possible conditions. The importance of banks in financing growth is evident in an economy as bank-oriented as Spain’s. According to data from a recent European Commission survey, bank loans are the main source of financing for 60% of SMEs. These, in turn, create more than 60% of new employment in Spain.
Financing is no longer a concern for small and medium-sized enterprises in Spain. Managers focused on business growth know they will have the funds they need. Access to financing concerns only 7% of SMEs, the same percentage as at the European level. Their main concerns are finding customers, competition, and having the right staff.
The rejection rate for new loan applications from SMEs in Spain is one of the lowest in Europe. Barely 4%, compared to the 5% European average. Under strict regulation, Spanish banks have made a strong effort in recent years to improve access to credit for businesses and households.
Only 1% of SMEs with bank financing consider its cost very high. According to the latest data from the Bank of Spain from October, the average interest rate on new loans to SMEs below one million euros falls to 2.22%, practically the same as the European average rate.
What do Spanish SMEs use the financing they receive for? 42% for maintaining operations, 32% for investment in capital goods, 14% for hiring new workers, and 12% for developing new products. New bank financing received by SMEs through October increased by 9.7%, more than double the nominal growth of the economy, and nearly 80% of new credit is directed to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Just over a year ago, the Bank of Spain established new guidelines for banks in their relationship with SMEs. It required them to complete a document called Financial Information and to assign SMEs a rating on their credit risk. The objective was twofold: to improve financing for small and medium-sized enterprises and to reduce bank delinquency.
The new documentation requirements also provide very valuable objective information for the companies themselves that require financing about their financial situation and about the dynamics of banks in their risk and credit decision-making. This completes the virtuous circle of responsible demand for funds by companies that find credit institutions committed to promoting growth and development.
Spanish banks are focused on their customers, providing them with all the financing they need under the best possible conditions. The importance of banks in financing growth is evident in an economy as bank-oriented as Spain’s. According to data from a recent European Commission survey, bank loans are the main source of financing for 60% of SMEs. These, in turn, create more than 60% of new employment in Spain.
Financing is no longer a concern for small and medium-sized enterprises in Spain. Managers focused on business growth know they will have the funds they need. Access to financing concerns only 7% of SMEs, the same percentage as at the European level. Their main concerns are finding customers, competition, and having the right staff.
The rejection rate for new loan applications from SMEs in Spain is one of the lowest in Europe. Barely 4%, compared to the 5% European average. Under strict regulation, Spanish banks have made a strong effort in recent years to improve access to credit for businesses and households.
Only 1% of SMEs with bank financing consider its cost very high. According to the latest data from the Bank of Spain from October, the average interest rate on new loans to SMEs below one million euros falls to 2.22%, practically the same as the European average rate.
What do Spanish SMEs use the financing they receive for? 42% for maintaining operations, 32% for investment in capital goods, 14% for hiring new workers, and 12% for developing new products. New bank financing received by SMEs through October increased by 9.7%, more than double the nominal growth of the economy, and nearly 80% of new credit is directed to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Just over a year ago, the Bank of Spain established new guidelines for banks in their relationship with SMEs. It required them to complete a document called Financial Information and to assign SMEs a rating on their credit risk. The objective was twofold: to improve financing for small and medium-sized enterprises and to reduce bank delinquency.
The new documentation requirements also provide very valuable objective information for the companies themselves that require financing about their financial situation and about the dynamics of banks in their risk and credit decision-making. This completes the virtuous circle of responsible demand for funds by companies that find credit institutions committed to promoting growth and development.
