Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Greece - Barriers in Access to Banking Services. An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to describe the main factors restricting the access of Greek small and medium enterprises to banking services. The analysis is based upon a special questionnaire through which are investigated the problem of SME financing. The questionnaire surveys were arranged in such way that representatives of banks and SMEs were expected to answer the same questions, which allowed to confront directly their opinions. It was used a sample of almost 250 respondents from the SME sector and three Greek banks with the biggest shares in the market of banking services provided for the SME sector. The first part of the article presents the role of SMEs in the sustained economic development and the actual development of SMEs growth in Greece. Next we describe the main sources of financing using by the small and medium enterprises in the different phases of their life. The main aim of the next part of the paper is to exam in details the findings of the survey and to identify the main constrains in SME financing. Finally we try to present future opportunities and threats for SME taking into consideration the assumption that the access to banking financing has a considerable influence on the development of SME sector in Greek economy.