Did the Crisis Induce Credit Rationing for French SMEs?

47 Pages Posted: 23 Nov 2012

See all articles by Elisabeth Kremp

Elisabeth Kremp

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Banque de France - Direction des Entreprises

Patrick Sevestre

Aix-Marseille University

Date Written: November 1, 2012

Abstract

This paper focuses on the access of independent French SMEs to bank lending and analyzes whether the observed evolution of credit to SMEs over the recent period was "demand driven" as a result of the decrease in firms' activity and investment projects or was "supply driven" with an increase in credit "rationing" stemming from a more cautious behavior of banks. Based on a sample of around 60,000 SMEs, we come to the conclusion that, despite the stronger standards used by banks when granting credit, French SMEs do not appear to have been strongly affected by credit rationing since 2008. This result goes against the common view that SMEs suffered from a strong credit restriction during the crisis but is perfectly in line with the results of several surveys about the access to finance of SMEs recently conducted in France.

Keywords: Credit rationing, disequilibrium model, SME

JEL Classification: E51, G21

Suggested Citation

Kremp, Elisabeth M. and Sevestre, Patrick, Did the Crisis Induce Credit Rationing for French SMEs? (November 1, 2012). Banque de France Working Paper No. 405, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2179546 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2179546

Elisabeth M. Kremp

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Banque de France - Direction des Entreprises

39 rue Croix des Petits Champs
Paris Cedex 01 75049
France

Patrick Sevestre (Contact Author)

Aix-Marseille University ( email )

3 Avenue Robert Schuman
3 Avenue Robert Schuman,
Aix-en-Provence, 13628
France

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