Martínez Pería, María Soledadde la Torre, AugustoSchmukler, Sergio L.2012-05-302012-05-302008-06https://hdl.handle.net/10986/6670The "conventional wisdom" in academic and policy circles argues that, while large and foreign banks are generally not interested in serving SMEs, small and niche banks have an advantage in doing so because they can overcome SME opaqueness through relationship lending. This paper shows that there is a gap between this view and what banks actually do. Banks perceive SMEs as a core and strategic business and seem well positioned to expand their links with SMEs. The recent intensification of bank involvement with SMEs in various emerging markets documented in this paper is neither led by small or niche banks nor highly dependent on relationship lending. Rather, all types of banks are catering to SMEs and larger, multiple-service banks have in fact a comparative advantage in offering a wide range of products and services on a large scale, through the use of new technologies, business models, and risk management systems.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO CAPITALACCESS TO CREDITACCESS TO EXTERNAL FINANCEACCESS TO FINANCEACCOUNT MANAGEMENTACCOUNTINGACCOUNTS RECEIVABLEADVISORY SERVICESAFFORDABLE INTEREST RATESAGRICULTURAL SECTORAPPROVAL PROCESSASYMMETRIC INFORMATIONBAD DEBTSBANK ASSETSBANK COMPETITIONBANK CONSOLIDATIONBANK CREDITBANK DEPOSITBANK EXPOSUREBANK FINANCINGBANK INVOLVEMENTBANK LENDINGBANK OFFICIALSBANKING INDUSTRIESBANKING INDUSTRYBANKING RELATIONSHIPSBANKING SECTORBANKING SERVICESBANKING SYSTEMBANKRUPTCYBANKRUPTCY PROCEDURESBORROWERBORROWINGBUSINESS ACTIVITYBUSINESS CENTERBUSINESS CENTERSBUSINESS STRATEGYBUYERSCAPITAL MARKETCAPITAL MARKETSCASH MANAGEMENTCENTRAL BANKSCHECKING ACCOUNTCHECKING ACCOUNTSCOLLATERALCOMMERCIAL BANKINGCOMMERCIAL FINANCECOMMERCIAL LOANCOMMUNITY BANKSCONSOLIDATIONCONSUMER LENDINGCONTRACT ENFORCEMENTCREDIT APPROVALCREDIT BUREAUSCREDIT CARDCREDIT CARDSCREDIT DECISIONSCREDIT GUARANTEESCREDIT INFORMATIONCREDIT INSTITUTIONSCREDIT LINECREDIT MARKETCREDIT MARKETSCREDIT PRODUCTSCREDIT RATINGCREDIT REGISTRIESCREDIT REPORTINGCREDIT RISKCREDIT RISK MANAGEMENTCREDIT SCORINGCREDIT SCORING MODELSCREDITORCREDITORSCREDITWORTHINESSCURRENT ACCOUNTDEBIT CARDSDEBTDEBTORSDEFAULT RISKDEPOSITDEPOSIT ACCOUNTDEPOSIT PRODUCTSDEPOSITSDEVELOPMENT BANKDISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTSDIVERSIFICATIONECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIES OF SCALEEMERGING MARKETSEMPLOYEEEMPLOYMENTENTREPRENEURSEQUITY FINANCINGEUROPEAN CENTRAL BANKEXTERNAL FINANCEFACTORINGFAMILIESFEDERAL RESERVEFEDERAL RESERVE BANKFEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORKFEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEMFINANCIAL ACTIVITYFINANCIAL CONSTRAINTSFINANCIAL DEVELOPMENTFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL INTERMEDIATIONFINANCIAL MARKETSFINANCIAL PRODUCTSFINANCIAL RATIOSFINANCIAL SERVICESFINANCIAL STABILITYFINANCIAL SYSTEMFINANCING OBSTACLESFISCAL POLICIESFIXED COSTSFOREIGN BANKSFOREIGN EXCHANGEFORMS OF COLLATERALFUTURE CASH FLOWGROUP OF BANKSHUMAN CAPITALINFORMAL CREDITINFORMATION SHARINGINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINSURANCEINTANGIBLE ASSETSINTEREST RATEINTEREST RATESINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL BANKSINTERNATIONAL FINANCELACK OF ACCESSLARGE BANKLARGE BANKSLARGE COMPANIESLARGE FIRMSLAWSLENDERLENDERSLENDING PORTFOLIOLINES OF CREDITLIQUID ASSETSLOANLOAN APPLICANTLOAN APPLICATIONLOAN CONTRACTLOAN OFFICERLOAN PERFORMANCELOAN PORTFOLIOSLOAN PRODUCTSLOAN SIZELOCAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSLONG-TERM LENDINGMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMSMEDIUM ENTERPRISESMICRO ENTERPRISEMICRO ENTERPRISESMONEY TRANSFERSMORAL HAZARDNATIONAL BANKERSNET WORTHNEW BUSINESSNEW ENTRANTSOESTERREICHISCHE NATIONALBANKONLINE BANKINGONLINE SALEOPAQUE SMALL BUSINESSOPAQUE SMALL BUSINESSESOPERATING COSTSPARTIAL CREDITPOLICY ENVIRONMENTSPRIVATE BANKSPRIVATE EQUITYPRIVATE SECTOR LOANSPROBABILITYPROFITABILITYPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC BANKSQUESTIONNAIRESRATING SYSTEMSREAL ESTATEREPAYMENTREPAYMENT HISTORYRESEARCH ASSISTANCERISK MANAGEMENTRISK PREMIUMSAVINGSSAVINGS ACCOUNTSSAVINGS PRODUCTSSECURITIESSENIORSMALL BANKSMALL BANKSSMALL BUSINESSSMALL BUSINESS BORROWERSSMALL BUSINESS CREDITSMALL BUSINESS FINANCESMALL BUSINESS FINANCESSMALL BUSINESS LENDINGSMALL BUSINESS LOANSSMALL ENTERPRISESSMALL LOANSSOURCES OF INCOMESPECIALIZED BANKSSTART-UPSSTATISTICAL ANALYSESSUBSIDIARIESSUPPLY CHAINSTAX COMPLIANCETERM CREDITTRADE CREDITTRADE FINANCINGTRANSACTIONTRANSACTION COSTSUNIVERSAL BANKINGUNIVERSAL BANKSWORKING CAPITALWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-4649