Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

These surveys focus on the funding of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in three different regions in Europe: South East England, Bavaria in southern Germany and Emilia-Romagna in Italy, against the background of increasing integration of Europe’s financial space, and the specific context of dramatic transformation of regional and local banking systems and the emergence of a venture capital market. The research focused on the implications of the restructuring, reorganisation and transformation of local and regional banking systems across Europe for the role of such banks in funding and supporting the SME sector. Local and regional banks are being rationalised as part of a wave of merger and reorganisation activity that is sweeping through Europe’s financial system. The concern is that what appears to be increasing centralisation of banking will have detrimental effects on the links between local firms, especially small and medium sized enterprises, and local banks, and the access of such firms to loan capital.

Main Topics:

The dataset includes information from the postal questionnaires. In the first section of the questionnaire, the SMEs were asked general questions about the nature of their business, its size, employment growth, and turnover. The second section was concerned with the methods of financing the SMEs used and what that finance was used for. The third section of the questionnaire covered SMEs' use of bank finance, and the fourth section asked questions on the use of venture capital finance.

One-stage stratified or systematic random sample

Postal survey