摘要：The introduction of the SME Supporting Factor (SF) allows banks to reduce capitalrequirements for credit risk on exposures to SME. This means that banks can free upcapital resources that can be redeployed in the form of new loans. Our study documentsthat the SF alleviates credit rationing for medium-sized firms that are eligible for theapplication of the SF but not for micro/small firms. These results suggest that Europeanbanks were aware of this policy measure and optimized both their regulatory capital andtheir credit exposures by granting loans to the medium-sized firms, which are safer thanmicro/small firms.
关键词：SME; credit access; supporting factor; bank lending.
