The European Central Bank said that the euro region's small- and medium-sized companies found it easier to access bank loans in the six months through September as the 16-member economy gathered strength.
The share of so-called SMEs reporting a worsening access to bank loans fell to 24 per cent from 42 per cent in the previous six months, the ECB said in a report on its website today, citing a survey of 5,312 firms conducted August 27th to September 22nd.
Some 12 per cent of companies reported an improvement in access to external financing, up from 10 per cent.
"The factors which have an impact on the availability of external financing have improved, especially those concerning the economic outlook," the ECB said. Companies maintained their sales assessment, which "bodes well for the ongoing revival of economic activity suggested by industrial production and real gross-domestic-product indicators".
A total of 21 per cent of SMEs surveyed reported a drop in profit during the period, which "could be linked to a significant increase in production costs" in the first half of 2010, the ECB said in the report.
Among large companies, which were also covered by the survey as a reference group, access to bank loans remained "stable" over the period with the overall financial situation showing "clear signs of improvement," the report said. Net increases in profit "appear to have resumed" among large firms in the first half of 2010, according to the ECB.
Bloomberg