Following the global financial and European sovereign debt crises, liquidity shortage and heavy restrictions on bank financing have worsened conditions in credit markets for non-financial firms in Europe. Given their importance as drivers of employment, growth, and innovation in the European economy, easy access to credit becomes crucial especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which dominate the business landscape in Europe and rely heavily on bank financing. The difficulties in accessing and obtaining a bank loan appear even more severe in the stressed countries that are struggling with the negative consequences of the financial crisis due to their macroeconomic weaknesses and financial fragility. Such distress increases the likelihood of credit crunch phenomena—as banks tend to transfer the stress to the borrowers—which, in turn, affect access and cost of funding for enterprises.
