"This paper studies the factors banks perceive as drivers and obstacles to financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), focusing on the role of competition and the institutional framework. Using a survey of banks in Argentina and Chile, the paper shows that, despite alleged differences in the...

"The authors test competing theories of capital structure choices using firm-level data on firm borrowings. The majority of firms in the dataset are privately owned, young, micro or small and medium enterprise (SME) firms concentrated in the service sector. In general, the financing pattern of...

"The authors examine the legal and business environments, financing channels, and governance mechanisms of various types of firms in India and compare them to those from other countries. Despite its English commonlaw origin, strong legal protection provided by the law, and a democratic...

"The authors propose a more complete conceptual framework for analysis of credit availability for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In this framework, lending technologies are the key conduit through which government policies and national financial structures affect credit availability. They...

The objective of this study is to contribute to the development of new structured financial products in Peru, in particular as means to address the problems of access to finance faced by underserved segments such as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This document reviews how structured...

This technical note is structured in the following manner. Section two provides an overview of the main barriers and frictions that SMEs face to access finance. Section three explores how digitization is an enabler for SME finance and how different fintech solutions address these barriers. The...

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has set back the economy and fiscal balances of Sierra Leone, which are now further impacted by the war in Ukraine. Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth turned negative in 2020, while the government's efforts to reduce the fiscal deficit were undermined by...