Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises in the euro area - April to September 2022

The sample comprised 10,984 enterprises in the euro area, of which 10,006 (91.1%) had fewer than 250 employees.

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ECBECB
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https://www.ecb.europa.eu//stats/ecb_surveys/safe/html/ecb.safe202212~6bc3312ea1.en.htmlhttps://www.ecb.europa.eu//stats/ecb_surveys/safe/html/ecb.safe202212~6bc3312ea1.en.html
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Friday, December 16, 2022
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Summary
Key Points: 
  • The sample comprised 10,984 enterprises in the euro area, of which 10,006 (91.1%) had fewer than 250 employees.
  • A net 13% of euro area firms now expect turnover to increase over the next six months (down from 34% in the previous survey round).
  • At the same time, concerns about access to finance remained unchanged at a low level in the euro area (6%), while those about difficulty in finding customers declined (11%).
  • Meanwhile, concerns about competition and regulatory burdens (both 7%) were relatively limited for enterprises in the euro area.
  • 2021 H2 refers to round 26 (October 2021 March 2022) and 2022 H1 refers to round 27 (April 2022-September 2022).
  • Euro area firms reported on balance that there had been no change in the willingness of banks to provide credit.
  • The overall indicator [3] of obstacles preventing euro area enterprises from accessing bank loans remained unchanged at 7% (see Table 1, columns 11 and 12 in this section).
  • Financing conditions as perceived by euro area firms
    (weighted scores)
    a) Small and medium-sized firms

    b) Large firms

    Notes: Indicator obtained by factor analysis.

  • For details, see the box entitled Financing conditions through the lens of euro area companies,
    Economic Bulletin, Issue 8, ECB, 2021.
  • Looking ahead, euro area firms are pessimistic regarding the availability of both internal and external financing (see Charts 16 and 17 *in Section 5).
  • For details, see the box entitled Financing conditions through the lens of euro area companies,
    Economic Bulletin, Issue 8, ECB, 2021.
  • = 2 The economic situation of euro area firms = Business activity continued to improve among euro area firms over the last six months (see Chart 1).
  • The net percentage of euro area firms reporting an increase in turnover in the survey rose to 29% (from 25%).
  • At the same time, euro area enterprises reported continued increases in materials and energy costs, as well as labour costs.
  • Changes in the debt situation and real decisions of euro area enterprises
    (net percentages of respondents)

    Base: All enterprises.

  • In net terms, euro area firms reported no change in debt-to-assets ratios in this survey round, but patterns diverged to some extent across euro area countries (see Chart 20 in Annex 1).
  • The financial vulnerability of euro area enterprises has increased for both SMEs and large firms (see Chart 3).
  • By contrast, profitability decreased across the four largest economies in this survey round, in line with the euro area aggregate.
  • Despite the recent increases in the cost of borrowing, euro area firms were still not too concerned about access to finance.
  • In the euro area, only 6% of firms reported access to finance as the main factor limiting production.
  • Importance of access to finance as perceived by euro area enterprises
    (left-hand scale: percentages of respondents; right-hand scale: importance of access to finance on a scale of 1 to 10)

    Base: All enterprises.

  • .Reflecting the phasing-out of several support measures across the euro area, a net 15% of euro area firms considered the access of grants or subsidised loans to have declined.
  • Applications for bank loans by euro area enterprises
    (percentages of respondents)

    Base: Enterprises for which bank loans (including subsidised bank loans) are relevant.

  • Actual and expected turnover among euro area enterprises
    (past six-month period and next six-month period; net percentages of respondents)

    Base: All enterprises.

  • Descriptive statistics for the sample of enterprises Breakdown of enterprises by economic activity
    (unweighted percentages)

    Base: The figures refer to round 27 of the survey (April 2022-September 2022).

  • Breakdown of enterprises by age
    (unweighted percentages)

    Base: The figures refer to round 27 of the survey (April 2022-September 2022).

  • Breakdown of enterprises by ownership
    (unweighted percentages)

    Base: The figures refer to round 27 of the survey (April 2022-September 2022).

  • Breakdown of enterprises by exports
    (unweighted percentages)

    Base: The figures refer to round 27 of the survey (April 2022-September 2022).

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