BANKS STILL TIGHT ON
SMALL BUSINESS LOANS
 

Small and medium-sized businesses throughout Greece believe it is almost impossible to secure finance from a bank, a recent survey revealed, which seems to indicate credit is still tight in spite of the government’s liquidity plan.  According to the survey, commissioned by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EBEA), 81 percent of businesses replied that "banks have essentially made lending to small and medium-sized firms from difficult to impossible... by imposing unfavourable terms."

"These businesses today have the biggest need for money so that they can cope with the crisis," said an EBEA spokesman. The survey questioned 635 businesses and, of the respondents that applied for a loan, only four in 10 managed to get the finance, making the operating environment for about a quarter of businesses "asphyxiating," the spokesman added. Lending in Greece has sharply decelerated as the economy slows under the weight of the crisis. Meanwhile on the same subject, the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers called on the Bank of Greece to intervene and encourage certain banks to start lending to the vital tourism sector in order to avoid "unpleasant developments in the field and the Greek economy." Andreas Andreadis, president of the federation, which represents 60 hotel groups from across Greece, called on the bank to stop the "anti-business practices adopted by some lenders."

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