Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities
Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2022
An OECD Scoreboard
The COVID-19 crisis caused profound disruptions in the global economy, with SMEs and
entrepreneurs, particularly hard hit. Swift measures implemented by governments and
public financial institutions provided a crucial lifeline for liquidity-strapped SMEs.
The 10th edition of Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2022: An OECD Scoreboard sheds
light on the impacts of the crisis on SME finance, tracking the latest developments
in debt, equity, asset-based finance, and framework conditions, along with recent
policy developments for 48 countries around the world. It shows that lending continued
to flow to SMEs during the pandemic, with unprecedented growth in outstanding SME
loans. What is more, credit conditions relaxed significantly: interest rates registered
record lows, interest rate spreads narrowed considerably, and collateral requirements
declined in most Scoreboard countries. In contrast, alternative sources of finance
such as leasing and factoring declined significantly, in part because of the large
uptake of credit. Evidence on equity finance shows a resilient venture capital sector,
with some fragility in early-stage finance.
The thematic chapter of this report assesses the evolution of SME financing support
during the crisis, from the rescue to recovery phases. It documents a fall in the
level of SME-related support in national recovery packages compared to earlier rescue
measures.
Published on March 29, 2022Also available in: French
The stock of loans to SMEs reached new heights during the pandemic, growing by 4.9%
in 2020. This is the largest increase in the past 10 years.
A 11.7% decrease in bankruptcies
Unprecedented support from governments has helped avoid a wave of SME bankruptcies,
which fell by 11.7% in 2020.
A record drop in SME interest rates in some countries
Credit conditions have been favourable, with SME interest rates falling by 0.4 percentage
points in 2020, the largest drop recorded since 2009.
LAUNCH - Back on track – is SME debt holding back the recovery?
29 March 2022 | 12:00-13:30 CEST | Digital event
Following a presentation of the key findings of the new 2022 Scoreboard, participants discussed how the latest trends in debt, equity and alternative financing are shaping prospects for recovery.
Speakers included:
Mathias Cormann, OECD Secretary-General
Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities
Adriana Mejía Hernández, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the OECD and Chair of the OECD Group of Friends for SMEs
Catherine Lewis La Torre, CEO, British Business Bank
Helmut Kraemer-Eis, Chief Economist, European Investment Fund
Gerhard Huemer, Economic Policy Director, SMEunited