Access to finance

Spain

Summary

In 2010, the volume of loans in Spain reached 10,4% of the country's GDP, compared to much lower average in EU reaching only 5,65 %. The loans up to 1 mln EUR were granted with average interest rate of 3,6% in 2010, being significantly lower than 5,05 % EU average (data from ECB). The percentage of successful loan applications by SMEs was lower in 2010 than in 2007, from 87,3% of all loan applications in 2007 compared with 59,1% in 2010. All individual financial indicators are in line with the EU average (EUROSTAT 2011). An alternative to bank financing is the use of risk capital. In 2010, there were 227 venture investments in the amount of 0,11% GDP (data from EVCA).

Following information from Small Business Act (SBA) Fact Sheets, the indicators measuring credit lending in Spain fell dramatically below the EU-average in 2009, when more than half of the SME owners noticed that banks were less willing to provide loans and actually refused credit to almost one-third of their customers. On top of that, the cost of credit to small businesses (for loans under EUR 1 million) is more than 40% higher than for larger enterprises (which generally need loans over EUR 1 million). The relatively limited availability of venture capital represents a further restriction on the chances for highly innovative companies to grow in the early stages of their development. Lastly, excessive payment periods increase the liquidity problems for businesses in Spain. The situation is somewhat better when looking at the institutions and systems which can facilitate access to finance, such as the credit registry bureaus, and the legal rights of lenders or borrowers; these are almost as sound as those in most of the other EU countries.

No information on the use of Structural funds for SMEs, as for the other countries.

EU-support

Research, articles etc.

Institutions

Key indicators on access to finance
SMAF
Spain performed close to the European average in 2007 and in 2010 with index on the level of 100 and 101 respectively. In between these years in 2008 and in 2009 the index was much below the EU average on access to finance, reaching the level of 92 and 89 points only. For details regarding the composition of the SMAF index and the methodology of compiling it please click here. [32 KB]
Loans
The amount of loans granted to enterprises in Spain rose in 2008 and 2009. Only a small fall in this regard was noticeable in 2010, but available data for 2011 indicate further decline on loans granted. Simultaneously average interest rates for loans up to EUR 1 million fell from 6,05% in 2008 to 3,88% in 2011. Interest rates for overdrafts had a significant decline from over 20% in 2009 to 3,41% in 2011 (based on data from January to September 2011). [64 KB]
Guarantees
AECM-based data show that the volume of granted guarantees was relatively stable for the first years of the index. In 2008 there was a large decline, but the market recovered and in 2009 the indicators reached pre-crisis levels. A significant market break down was again recorded in 2010 as regards volumes of guarantees granted. The number of beneficiary SMEs had a relatively steady increase from 2007, up to 2010. [58 KB]
Venture capital
The performance of venture capital in Spain was marked with a negative trend from the start of the financial crisis up to 2009, as the total venture capital investments fell. Year 2010 is marked as a first year when this negative trend was reversed, but still the entire market did not manage to fully recover from the initial drawback. The number of beneficiary SMEs financed by venture capital had a relatively stable decline from 2008 to 2010. The observations are based on data from EVCA. [65 KB]
Business angels finance
The volume of business angels’ investments in SMEs was very stabilized between 2006 and 2008. The presented statistics from EBAN show that this market more than tripled in 2009. [59 KB]

Appendix: ACTIONS SUPPORTING ACCESS TO FINANCE FOR SMEs (PDF) pdf - 405 KB [405 KB]