Lender confidence and bank competition boost number of loans
Published:
17 September 2004 y., Friday
Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) have finally found a way to get hold of bank loans.
Banks have reported an increasing volume of loans to small and medium-size companies for the first half of 2004. Experts say the shift is because smaller businesses have gained the confidence of lenders and the entire sector has been doing better.
Ceska sporitelna, for example, lent 10.4 billion Kc ($400 million) to companies with annual turnover worth 1 billion Kc in the first half of 2004, up by 41 percent compared to last year. In the same period the bank lent another 5 billion Kc to entrepreneurs and small business with turnover below 30 million Kc.
Spokeswoman Vera Carna said the bank has also established special commercial centers in each of the country's regions to provide loans.
At GE Capital Bank the volume of lending to small firms was up 32 percent to 6.3 billion Kc compared to the same period a year ago. The majority of smaller clients borrow an amount of less than 10 million Kc and in the case of an investment loan pay back the loan in two to five years, said Jan Hainz, the spokesman for GE Capital Bank.
Jan Schiesser, an analyst at Atlantik Financial Markets, said two key factors are responsible for the loan boom. He said there is tough national and international competition on the market for bigger clients, leading banks to focus on smaller customers. Also, SMEs have learned to keep their accounting transparent, so it is much easier for banks to assess the loan, Schiesser added.
He said he expects the volume of loans will continue to grow sharply in the next two to three years, as the bottom line was very low.
Šaltinis:
praguepost.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Standard & Poor's (S&P) affirmed Lithuania's long-term investment grade sovereign foreign currency BBB credit rating and removed it from a CreditWatch negative position, citing government commitments to address deteriorating public finances.
more »
The EBRD-EIB Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund (MCCF) and Azerenerji Joint Stock Company are collaborating in order to promote energy-efficient power generation in Azerbaijan.
more »
U.S. President Barack Obama, meeting with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, called on all three nations hit by the global recession to avoid resorting to protectionism.
more »
A 10-year $75 million EBRD loan will finance the construction of a combined heat and power plant in the east Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk which is expected to improve energy efficiency and cut pollution by 14 percent thanks to the use of more environmentally-friendly technologies.
more »
The Directorate-General for Competition has issued a review of the aid schemes introduced by Member States and approved by the Commission during the financial crisis.
more »
Rescue planes from New Zealand have been taking part in a massive search for passengers after a ferry sank off the coast of Tonga. At least 27 people are missing.
more »
Courtney Adams has always loved cooking. As a kid she baked brownies for her friends and in college her apartment was the place to go to for a home-cooked meal. But she never thought she'd cook for a living.
more »
The European Commission has authorised, under EC Treaty state aid rules, a scheme offering reduced-interest loans to businesses investing in the production of environmentally friendly products, as part of the German package to tackle the current economic crisis.
more »
Ramūnas Bičiulaitis, former board member and financial director of AB LEO LT, starts working as head of the Finance Department of Danske Bankas.
more »
The EBRD has kept up a rapid pace in the syndicated loans market, defying difficult market conditions and pulling together nine deals so far this year, worth a total €1.2 billion.
more »