This paper uses panel data to test the extent to which trade credit has acted as a substitute for bank finance in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008. It demonstrates that the reduction in the supply of funds to SMEs was compounded by the...

This paper examines the role of trade credit in a comprehensive panel of 290,301 SMEs across 15 European countries over the period 2003-2012. The results show that trade credit served as an important source of finance for credit constrained firms, and that the financial position of firms...