Indeed, over one-third of those smaller banks reported having increased loans not made under previous commitments. However, many of those banks noted that the increased demand was accounted for, in part, by firms that were substituting bank loans for other funding sources. Incoming data from business surveys also indicate that lending conditions for small businesses have tightened – in some cases, significantly.
Ladies and gentlemen, I appreciate that this is a fairly heavy agenda for the two week period, but I would like to believe that you will be up to the challenge. MEFMI capacity building events fortunately are not designed as holiday packages!