SME finance

SME是英文Small and medium enterprises的縮寫，是中小型企業的意思，不同的國家對中小型企業的定義標準是不同的。比如，歐盟國家現在的標準是雇員少於50人的企業是小型企業，少於250人的是中型企業。在美國，雇員少於100人的企業是小型企業，少於500人的是中型企業。

基本介紹

• 中文名：中小型企業
• 外文名：SME finance
• 全稱：Small and medium enterprises
• 縮寫：SME

中小企業金融

SME無論是從數量上，還是從繳納的稅款、就業人數和企業家人數來看，中小型企業都是國家的中堅力量。一直以來，中小型企業都是堅韌不拔、充滿活力的，並且掌握了豐富的資源，因為通常中小型企業老闆也是該企業的經營者，而不是無心專注於公司發展的職業經理人。但許多中小型企業的管理效率不高，而且它們的國際市場也不大。當這些企業處於高速發展的狀態時，往往不能保持一致的高質量水平。

SME

SME Finance is the funding of small and medium sized enterprises and represents a major function of the general business finance market – in which capital for firms of types is supplied, acquired, and costed/priced. Capital is supplied through the business finance market in the form of bank loans and overdrafts; leasing and hire-purchase arrangements; equity/corporate bond issues; venture capital or private equity; and asset-based finance such as factoring and invoice discounting.[1]

However, it should be noted that not all business finance is external/commercially supplied through the market. Much finance is internally generated by businesses out of their own earnings and/or supplied informally as trade credit (i.e., delays in paying for purchases of goods and services).

Importance

The economic and social importance of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is well recognized in academic and policy literature.[2] [3] It is also recognized that these actors in the economy may be underserved, especially in terms of finance.[4] This has led to significant debate on the best methods to serve this sector.

There have been numerous schemes and programmes in markedly different economic environments. However, there are a number of distinctive recurring approaches to SME finance.[5]

Collateral based lending offered by traditional banks and finance companies is usually made up of a combination of asset-based finance, contribution based finance, and factoring based finance, using reliable debtors or contracts.

Information based lending usually incorporates financial statement lending,credit scoring,and relationship lending.

Viability based financing is especially associated with venture capital.

Gap

A substantial portion of the SME sector may not have the security required for conventional collateral based bank lending, nor high enough returns to attract formal venture capitalists and other risk investors. In addition, markets may be characterized by deficient information (limiting the effectiveness of financial statement-based lending and credit scoring). This has led to claims of an "SME finance gap" – particularly in emerging economies.[6] The SMEs that fall into this category have been defined as Small Growing Businesses (SGBs) at a workshop in Geneva in July 2008, hosted by The Network for Governance, Entrepreneurship & Development (GE&D)[7]

There have been at least two distinctive approaches to try to overcome the so-called SME finance gap.

The first has been to broaden the collateral based approach by encouraging bank lenders to finance SMEs with insufficient collateral. This might be done through an external party providing the collateral or guarantees required. Unfortunately, to the extent that the schemes concerned run counter to basic free market principles they tend to be unsustainable. This sector is increasingly called the Meso-finance sector. [8]

However, there is no evidence of any significant structural barriers to the supply of bank or private equity finance to suitable SME applicants on mutually satisfactory terms and conditions in contemporary Britain. The main obstacles to funding here appear to be on the demand rather than the supply side of the business finance market – mainly in the form of lack of satisfactory business plans, accounting and other information; inadequate assets for use as security; and insufficiently high levels of profitability, gearing, liquidity, stability, and other business-financial performance criteria on the part of funding applicants.[9]

Thus, the second approach has been to broaden the viability based approach. Since the viability based approach is concerned with the business itself, the aim has been to provide better general business development assistance[10] to reduce risk and increase returns. This often entails a detailed review and assistance with the business plan.

A common aim or feature of the viability based approach is the provision of appropriate finance that is tailored to the cash flows of the SME.

Although the returns generated by this approach in less developed countries may not be attractive to venture capitalists, they can be significantly better than conventional collateral based lending – whilst at the same time being less risky than the typical venture capitalist business. Thus, a new, distinct asset class, offering a new avenue for diversification, is available to investors. With higher profitability than traditional SME finance and lower risk than traditional venture capital, this sector has been named the "Growth finance sector".

In the past, a significant obstacle to applying this approach in less developed countries has been getting the information required to assess viability plus the costs of transferring and providing business development assistance. However, in the last several years improved information and communications technology have made the process easier and cheaper. As technology and information sharing etc. continue to improve, the approach could become significantly more cost-effective and attractive to established financiers with viability based approaches and to consultants providing business development assistance to SMEs in other, more mainstream areas.

Some investors have promoted this approach as a means of achieving wider social benefits,[11] while others have been interested in developing it largely in order to generate better financial-economic returns for shareholders, investors, employees, and clients.

A new organisation, Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE)[12] has been created to bring the growth finance stakeholders together, with the view to evolve into an association serving the sector, similar to venture capital or microfinance associations do. They have declared their target audience to be Small Growing Businesses.

The management of business lending

The effective management of lending to SMEs can contribute significantly to the overall growth and profitability of banks. There has been considerable research and analysis into the methods by which banks assess and monitor business loans, manage business financing risks, and price their products – and how these methods might be further developed and improved..[13]

There has been particularly intensive scrutiny of the kinds of business financial information that banks use in making lending decisions and how reliable that information actually is.

Banks have traditionally relied on a combination of documentary sources of information, interviews and visits, and the personal knowledge and expertise of managers in assessing and monitoring business loans. However, when assessing comparatively small and straightforward business credit applications banks may largely rely on standardized credit scoring techniques (quantifying such things as the characteristics, assets, and cash flows of businesses/owners). Using such techniques – and also centralizing or regionalizing business-banking operations generally – can significantly reduce processing costs. Standardized computer-based assessment may also be more accurate and fairer than reliance on the personal judgments of local bank managers. As a result, banks may now be able to offer more loans, faster and in larger amounts, and reduce previously high security requirements.

References

1 ^ The Business Finance Market: A Survey, Industrial Systems Research Publications, Manchester UK, new edition 2002. ISBN 978-0-906321-19-5.

2 ^ UN/ECE Secretariat. "SMEs - Their role in foreign trade". United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE). Retrieved on 2007-06-28.

3 ^ Tyler Biggs. "Is small beautiful and worthy of subsidy". World Banks (UN/ECE). Retrieved on 2008-05-30.

4 ^ "OECD-APEC Keynote Paper on Removing Barriers to SME Access to International Markets". www.OECD (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-28.

5 ^ Adapted from: Berger, A.; G. Udell (2005). "A More Complete Conceptual Framework for SME Finance".

6 ^ Newberry, Derek (2006). "THE ROLE OF SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN THE FUTURES OF EMERGING ECONOMIES". Retrieved on 2008-05-19.

7 ^ "GE&D". Retrieved on 2008-11-25.

8 ^ Sanders, Thierry (2006). "Meso-Finance". Retrieved on 2008-05-30.

9 ^ The Business Finance Market: A Survey, Industrial Systems Research Publications, op.cit., page 57.

10 ^ Kamanyi, Judy (2003). "Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Development Assitance, Gender and Enterprise Development Impact Assessment: The Case of Uganda" (PDF). Retrieved on 2007-06-28.

11 ^ Hoffman, Kurt; Chris West, Karen Westley, Sharna Jarvis (March 2005). "Social impact model Enterprise Solutions to Poverty". Shell Foundation. 12 Retrieved on 2007-06-28.

13 ^ "ANDE". Retrieved on 2008-11-25.

14 ^ The Management of Business Lending: A Survey, Industrial Systems Research Publications, Manchester UK, 2002. ISBN 978-0-906321-18-8.

15 ^ The Management of Business Lending: A Survey, Industrial Systems Research Publications, op.cit., page 39.