The Bank-Firm Relationships After Basel 2: A Survey on Italian Firms

32 Pages Posted: 17 Sep 2007

Date Written: February 2007

Abstract

This paper shows the results of a survey on firms regarding the changes that are occurring in the bank-firm relationship in view of Basel II. The survey has been conducted on an national basis together with a local one directed to small firms localized in the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Puglia and Basilicata. The results show that a non-negligible share of firms seems to have realized the possible effects of the new regulations and some of them think that it is necessary to introduce relevant organizational changes. In general firms do not perceive any relevant change in banks' behaviour, but there is some dispersion in the answers on banks' reactions in credit availability and conditions. A trend towards reduction in multiple bank relationships emerges, especially among firms participating in the national survey. The local survey aimed also at evaluating the impact of Basel II on growth perspectives of Italian SMEs. These results show that the growth trend is more marked among firms localized in Emilia-Romagna, which received heavy funding from the banking system. A wider bank support seems to be lacking, in terms of assistance and consulting to firms' growth projects. In addition to this, firms' main obstacles to growth was due to difficulties in finding suitable managers and in the governance of the firm in general.

Note: Downloadable document is in Italian.

Keywords: banks, firms, Basel 2

JEL Classification: G21, G32

Suggested Citation

Bentivogli, Chiara and Cocozza, Emidio and Foglia, Antonella and iannotti, simonetta, The Bank-Firm Relationships After Basel 2: A Survey on Italian Firms (February 2007). Bank of Italy Occasional Paper No. 6, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1014563 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1014563

Chiara Bentivogli (Contact Author)

Bank of Italy ( email )

Via Nazionale 91
Rome, 00184
Italy

Emidio Cocozza

Bank of Italy ( email )

Via Nazionale 91
Rome, 00184
Italy

Antonella Foglia

Bank of Italy ( email )

Via Nazionale 91
Rome, 00184
Italy

Simonetta Iannotti

Bank of Italy ( email )

Via Nazionale 91
Rome, 00184
Italy

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