Access to bank credit for SMEs: An analysis of Central Guarantee Fund's allocative strategies

The public guarantee programs set by policy makers are taking an increasing importance in support access to credit for SMEs. We intend to verify the main default drivers of operations assisted by the Central Guarantee Fund (CGF), in order to identify policies for improving its economic efficiency. The survey sample is composed of 167,777 positions secured by 19 Italians Mutual Guarantee Institutions (MGIs), of which 33,229 counter-guaranteed by the CGF. The results show that the technical form of the loan granted by the bank and the guarantee issued by the MGI represent the main default drivers of counter-guaranteed operations.