3  Qualitative information on SME access to finance is extracted from the ECB’s biannual survey on access to finance of SMEs in the euro area (SAFE). See http://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/money/surveys/sme /html/index.en.html.
BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  by banks to have a higher probability of default than larger firms, and because SMEs are often unable to switch from bank credit to other sources of external finance. As a result, SMEs are more likely to be affected by excessive bank risk aversion and thus by outright rationing of credit provision than are large firms.