Brussels, 02/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Commission is launching two new instruments to facilitate SMEs' access to finance - a single online portal and an information guide to promote SME stock listings.
Commissioner Antonio Tajani announced the launch of these two instruments for facilitating SME's access to financing at the SME Finance Forum, on the eve of an informal Competitiveness Council to be held in Dublin on Thursday 2 May.
On one hand, SMEs will have a single point of access to all EU financial instruments. The new central portal allows easy access to some €100 billion in EU funding available under European programmes during the 2007-2013 programming period. Under programmes such as the Competitiveness and Innovation framework Programme (CIP), Progress Microfinance, the Risk Sharing Instrument (FP7), EIB loans and structural funds, Europe is proposing a whole range of flexible financial instruments.
Furthermore, the Commission has launched a targeted information campaign to promote SME listings and stimulate investors' interest in SMEs and mid-caps. To this end, the Commission has also published a web-based information guide for SME stock listings. This tool provides advice to small and medium-sized businesses on how to go public.
In a joint report published on Thursday, the European Commission and the EIB reaffirm their commitment to improving a situation that is still precarious for SMEs when it comes to accessing finance. In addition to EIB support for SMEs, which amounted to €13 billion in 2012, the Commission, with a budget of €1.1 billion via the CIP, has financed guarantees which have helped to mobilise over €13 billion in loans and €2.3 billion in venture capital, thereby stimulating the growth of 220,000 SMEs across Europe. Guarantees are used in cases where the entrepreneur or the small enterprises do not have sufficient collateral to offer and the bank will not provide a loan. Ninety percent of the beneficiaries have fewer than ten employees and this is the category that finds it most difficult to obtain loans. The average guaranteed loan is about €65,000.
Tajani has stated his intention to widen access to loan guarantees for SMEs in the context of the new COSME programme from 2014 onwards. “Each euro dedicated to our guarantees has the power to stimulate - on average - €30 in bank loans. This is crucial to help Europe's jobs engine, our small enterprises, to run smoothly again. It is they who create 85% of all new jobs”, for renewed prosperity, the commissioner said. (EH/transl.jl)