EIF Working Paper 2017/42, "Credit Guarantee Schemes for SME lending in Western Europe”

Credit guarantee schemes (CGSs) are a commonly used response to address the consequences of market failures in the area of lending to SMEs, as guarantees reduce the risk of lenders and favour the provision of financing to viable businesses that are constrained in their access to finance. This report discusses the activity of CGSs in Western Europe and presents an analysis based on a novel survey, conducted by the European Investment Bank Group (EIB & EIF), among 18 credit guarantee organisations in 13 countries and 33 banks operating in 17 countries. The report aims at providing a deeper insight into the driving motives and operational mechanisms of West-European CGSs, and the financial intermediaries that use them. It builds on an earlier study that surveyed the CGS sector in the CESEE region. This study is also published in parallel as EIB Working Paper No. 2017/02.

The EIF Working Papers are designed to make available to a wider readership selected topics and studies in relation to EIF´s business. The Working Papers are edited by EIF´s Research & Market Analysis and are typically authored or co-authored by EIF staff or are written in cooperation with EIF. The Working Papers are usually available only in English and distributed only in electronic form (pdf).

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