Financing of small and medium–sized enterprises by bank loans compared to large companies during the coronavirus crisis

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises play an important and irreplaceable role in the economy of almost each state. They need finances for their activities, which can be obtained from internal and external sources. Since they are considered as more vulnerable and riskier than large companies, it is more difficult for them to obtain external sources of finance. The aim of the article is to evaluate access of SMEs to bank loans compared to large companies in the Slovak Republic in 2020. For this purpose, qualitative research strategy was applied. The research was based on the statistical data regarding corporate loans provided by the National Bank of Slovakia. It can be observed that the dynamics of credit growth remained stable from the point of view of the corporate sector as a whole in 2020, but the availability of financing for small and medium sized enterprises was limited. However, it is not possible to observe the impact of the pandemic on credit risk indicators.

Keywords

• smes
• loans
• banks
• coronavirus crisis