Survey on the access to finance of small and medium-sized enterprises in the euro area – October 2013 to March 2014

This report presents the main results of the tenth round of the survey on the access to finance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the euro area (SAFE).

The survey was conducted between 20 February and 24 March 2014. The total euro area sample size was 7,520 firms, of which 6,969 (93%) had fewer than 250 employees. The report provides evidence mainly on the change in the financial situation, financing needs and access to external financing of small and medium-sized enterprises in the euro area, and compares the situation with that of large firms.

In addition, it provides an overview of developments in SMEs’ access to finance across euro area countries. The reference period is the period from October 2013 to March 2014.

EU Bookshop: Some ECB publications can also be downloaded via the EU Bookshop website http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/european-central-bank-cbzZYKABstuhoAAAEjIokY4e5K/

ECB: Publications http://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/html/index.en.html

ECB: Press Release, 30.04.14: Report on the results of the survey on the access to finance of SMEs in the euro area – October 2013 to March 2014 http://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2014/html/pr140430_1.en.html

ECB: Statistics: Monetary and financial statistics: Surveys: Access to finance of SMEs https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/money/surveys/sme/html/index.en.html

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