World Bank2012-06-112012-06-112007-12https://hdl.handle.net/10986/7654Small-and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) represent an important part of the Colombian economy, although they are not well documented in official statistics. In particular, there does not exist sufficient periodic data as to their characteristics, evolution, or overall contribution to the economy - in most cases, SMEs tend to be bundled together with micro enterprises in official statistics. The true size of the market is understated due to informality. Lack of access to finance has been cited as an important problem in recent surveys. However, there are significant differences in perceptions as to the size and causes of the financing gap. While there is strong evidence to support its existence following the 1999 crisis, the significant growth of this market in recent years raises some questions as to whether such perceptions remain valid. One of the lessons of the last few years is that banks will expand SME lending on their own accord - in spite of the presence of important constraints - when they perceive the attractiveness of this market and have begun to saturate easier (in terms of business model) market segments such as corporate and consumer lending. However, in order to ensure the sustainable growth of this market, continued strong macroeconomic performance and a stable and consistent policy framework in the financial sector have been identified as important considerations.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOABSENCE OF CREDITACCEPTABLE COLLATERALACCESS TO CREDITACCESS TO FINANCEACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICESACCOUNTINGACCOUNTS RECEIVABLEAGRICULTURAL SECTORALTERNATIVE FINANCINGALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF FINANCINGASSESSMENT PROCESSAVAILABILITY OF CREDITBALANCE SHEETBANK BRANCHESBANK DEPOSITBANK FINANCINGBANK INVOLVEMENTBANK LENDINGBANKING SERVICESBANKING SYSTEMBANKRUPTCYBANKSBORROWERBORROWINGBUSINESS ACTIVITIESBUSINESS ACTIVITYBUSINESS CENTERBUSINESS CENTERSBUSINESS CREDITBUSINESS DEVELOPMENTBUSINESS ENTERPRISEBUSINESS PLANBUSINESS PLANSBUSINESS STRATEGYCALCULATIONCAPITAL MARKETSCAPITAL STRUCTURECASH FLOWCASH MANAGEMENTCHAMBERS OF COMMERCECOLLATERALCOLLATERAL REQUIREMENTSCOMMERCIAL BANKCOMMERCIAL FINANCECOMMERCIAL LOANCONSUMERCONSUMER CREDITCONSUMER LENDINGCONSUMER LOANSCONTRACT ENFORCEMENTCONTRIBUTIONCOUNTRY COMPARISONSCREDIT ANALYSISCREDIT APPLICATIONSCREDIT BUREAUCREDIT BUREAUSCREDIT CARDCREDIT CARDSCREDIT GUARANTEESCREDIT INFORMATIONCREDIT INSTITUTIONCREDIT INSTITUTIONSCREDIT LINESCREDIT MARKETCREDIT MARKETSCREDIT PORTFOLIOCREDIT PRODUCTSCREDIT RATINGSCREDIT RECORDSCREDIT REPORTINGCREDIT REPORTSCREDIT RISKCREDIT SCORINGCREDIT SCORING MODELSCREDITORCREDITORSCREDITSCREDITWORTHINESSCSCURRENT INTEREST RATEDEBTSDEPOSIT ACCOUNTSDEPOSITORDEPOSITORSDEPOSITSDIVERSIFICATIONDOMESTIC CREDITDURABLE GOODSECONOMIC GROWTHEMPLOYMENTENTERPRISE ASSISTANCEENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENTENTREPRENEURIAL TRAININGEXTERNAL FINANCEFACTORINGFAMILY BUSINESSESFINANCE COMPANIESFINANCIAL ACCESSFINANCIAL ANALYSISFINANCIAL CONSTRAINTSFINANCIAL INFORMATIONFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL INSTRUMENTSFINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIESFINANCIAL INTERMEDIATIONFINANCIAL LITERACYFINANCIAL MARKETSFINANCIAL PENETRATIONFINANCIAL PERFORMANCEFINANCIAL POLICYFINANCIAL PROVIDERSFINANCIAL RESOURCESFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL SECTOR POLICYFINANCIAL SECTOR REGULATIONSFINANCIAL STRUCTUREFINANCIAL SYSTEMFINANCIAL TRANSACTIONSFINANCING OBSTACLESFOREIGN BANKSFOREIGN CURRENCYGOVERNMENT ASSISTANCEHOUSEHOLDSINDEBTEDNESSINFLATIONINFORMAL ECONOMYINFORMATION GAPINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINTEREST PAYMENTSINTEREST RATEINTEREST RATE CEILINGINTEREST RATE CEILINGSINTEREST RATESINTERNATIONAL BANKSLABOR FORCELACK OF ACCESSLARGE FIRMSLEGAL FRAMEWORKLEGISLATIONLENDERLENDERSLIABILITYLIMITED ACCESSLINES OF CREDITLOANLOAN APPROVALLOAN DECISIONLOAN PORTFOLIOLOAN PROCESSINGLOAN PRODUCTLOAN PRODUCTSLOAN RECOVERYLOAN SIZELONG-TERM BORROWINGLOW-INCOMEMACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCEMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMAJOR BANKSMARKET SHARESMATURITIESMICRO CREDITMICRO ENTERPRISEMICRO ENTERPRISESMICRO-ENTERPRISEMICROCREDITMONETARY POLICYMORTGAGESMULTINATIONALOUTREACHOVERDRAFTOVERDUE DEBTPARTIAL CREDITPAYMENT BEHAVIORPAYMENT HISTORYPAYMENT SERVICESPRIVATE BANKSPRIVATE CREDITPROBABILITYPROFITABILITYPROPERTY AS COLLATERALPUBLIC POLICYQUESTIONNAIREQUESTIONNAIRESREAL ESTATERELIANCE ON COLLATERALREPAYMENTRESERVE REQUIREMENTSRESPONSIBILITIESRISK ASSESSMENTRISK ASSESSMENTSRISK MANAGEMENTSALARIESSALESALESSAVINGS ACCOUNTSMALL BANKSSMALL ENTERPRISESMALL LOANSSMALLER FIRMSSOCIAL SECURITYSOCIAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTIONSSOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTSOURCE OF INFORMATIONSPECIAL SAVINGSSTAKEHOLDERSTAKEHOLDERSSUPPLY OF CREDITSUPPORT PROGRAMSTAXATIONTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETRADITIONAL BANKINGTRAINING PROGRAMSTRANSACTIONTRANSACTION COSTSTYPE OF LOANTYPES OF LOANSUNFAIR COMPETITIONVALUABLEWAREHOUSESWORKING CAPITALWORTHWorld Bank10.1596/7654