This is particularly true for small and medium-sized enterprises, which form the backbone of the economy. In the EU, SMEs account for more than 50% of value added and more than 60% of employment.
Altogether, 99% of all enterprises are small and mediumsized.1 The three most important sources of financing for SMEs are bank loans, leasing and credit lines.2 So they do rely heavily on banks. This makes them somewhat vulnerable. In crises, banks tend to charge higher premiums when lending to SMEs.