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Public Credit Guarantees and SME Finance

Author

Listed:
  • Salvatore Zecchini

    (University of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy)

  • Marco Ventura

    (ISAE - Institute for Studies and Economic Analyses)

Abstract

Difficulties in finding appropriate financing weigh heavily on the ability to grow of Italy’s small enterprises, due to their narrow equity base and limited access to credit markets. The State Fund for guarantees to SMEs is one of the instruments used to overcome such difficulties. This essay provides the first evaluation of the impact of this Fund in terms of ability to increase the availability of credit, reduction of borrowing costs and financial sustainability. Extensive econometric tests have been carried out by comparing the performance of the SMEs that benefited from this guarantee with a control group made out of a sample of comparable firms. The findings confirm the presence of a causal relationship between the State guarantee and the higher debt leverage of guaranteed firms, as well as their lower debt cost. The guarantee instrument has proved to be an effective instrument, although it has had a limited economic impact because of its narrow capital base and selective approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Salvatore Zecchini & Marco Ventura, 2006. "Public Credit Guarantees and SME Finance," ISAE Working Papers 73, ISTAT - Italian National Institute of Statistics - (Rome, ITALY).
    • Handle: RePEc:isa:wpaper:73
    as

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    File URL: http://lipari.istat.it/digibib/Working_Papers/WP_73_2006_Ventura.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Arping, Stefan & Lóránth, Gyöngyi & Morrison, Alan D., 2010. "Public initiatives to support entrepreneurs: Credit guarantees versus co-funding," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 26-35, April.
    2. Rodrigo Martín-García & Jorge Morán Santor, 2021. "Public guarantees: a countercyclical instrument for SME growth. Evidence from the Spanish Region of Madrid," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 427-449, January.
    3. Geoffrey Goodell & Hazem Danny Al-Nakib & Paolo Tasca, 2020. "Digital Currency and Economic Crises: Helping States Respond," Papers 2006.03023, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2020.
    4. Ricardo Bebczuk, 2010. "Acceso al financiamiento de las PYMES en Argentina: Estado de situación y propuestas de política," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0104, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    5. Girardi, Alessandro & Ventura, Marco & Margani, Patrizia, 2018. "An Indicator of Credit Crunch using Italian Business Surveys," MPRA Paper 88839, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Honohan, Patrick, 2010. "Partial credit guarantees: Principles and practice," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 1-9, April.
    7. Li, Bo & An, Si-min & Song, Dong-ping, 2018. "Selection of financing strategies with a risk-averse supplier in a capital-constrained supply chain," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 163-183.
    8. Maria Cristina Arcuri & Lorenzo Gai & Federica Ielasi, 2021. "Public Credit Guarantee Schemes in Supporting SMEs: An Evaluation of Effectiveness and Impacts," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 15(1), pages 174-174, July.
    9. Song, Pengcheng & Zhang, Hai & Zhao, Qin, 2021. "Innovative Credit Guarantee Schemes with equity-for-guarantee swaps," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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