The easy access to finance for SMEs is of particular significance for the creation of new businesses, the growth and development of the existing ones, which in turn promote economic and social development of a country. Moreover, under crisis conditions, supporting the access to finance for SMEs is vital because these firms can contribute to the recovery of national economies.
This paper aims to highlight the features that the access to bank loans of SMEs has for some new EU countries (respectively, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania), the constraints that occur in the way of the access to this type of loan and the implications of the current global crisis on bank lending to SMEs.
The serious implications of the current global crisis on real economies and financial and banking systems in most analyzed countries have resulted in unprecedented reactions from the decision makers who have focused their attention on the adoption and implementation of measures to avoid the collapse of the financial and banking system and to correct the failures of the financial markets and to support businesses.
The major negative effects of the current crisis on firms bank lending activity, highlights the need of realizing some important legal and institutional reforms, with significant impact on the business environment, including the SME sector.