Marco Spallone

SME Development Banks: Conceptual Framework and Empirical Analysis

In this paper we develop a conceptual framework to define small and medium-sized enterprise development banks (SMEDB). This conceptual effort is motivated by the lack of a clear definition of SMEDB. Once a consistent definition of SMEDB is provided, we compare a sample of banks that are SMEDB according to such definition with a sample of commercial banks. We conclude that it is possible to separate SMEDB from commercial banks in a statistically significant manner by taking into consideration a set of relevant financial indicators and we confirm the widespread idea that SMEDB play a crucial public/social role.

The Economic Impact of EU Competitiveness Programs on Italian SMEs

This paper focuses on how structural funds from the EU might alleviate the credit crunch on Italian SMEs. We found that resources directly available to SMEs represent only 0.19% of 2013 loan facilities: moreover, the allotted resources for SMEs in 2014-2020 programs is expected to be even less. Not only are available resources scarce, but they are also allocated in an inefficient way through procedures that are not always transparent. We conclude that it would be very useful to improve efficiency and transparency, by adopting simpler procedures and reducing compliance costs.