出版社：Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen, Potsdam
摘要：Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) are crucial for growth and employment in
Germany and in other EU countries. However with changing prudential supervision, namely Basel
II rules, there will be new problems in SME financing; this holds all the more as big private banks
reduce their SME loan business. As Basel II requires banks to raise risk spreads in loan markets,
a rise of interest rates for loans to SMEs can be anticipated. As regards the access to venture
capital market, the situation has generally improved in Germany in the 1990s; however, the dead
of the New Market in 2002 has eliminated an important source of equity capital for new firms as
well as a valuable exit option for venture capital firms. Medium-sized firms have the option of
seeking access to the corporate bond market which requires an external rating. If Basel II should
lead to a flatter yield curve and a high share of short-term corporate loan financing, there will be
problems of reduced banking profitability and larger balance sheet mismatches. It is shown why
the yield curve is a good proxy for forecasting business cycle developments. Unsolved issues
under Basel II suggest a clear basic agenda for a future Basel III.
