AS per recently compiled data by the OECD, the credit crunch has been more serious for small and medium-sized businesses than for large companies.

Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs: An OECD Scoreboard finds that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) requesting loans between 2007 and 2010 faced higher interest rates than for large companies. Loan conditions for SMEs included shortened maturities and increased demands for collateral.

Although interest on loans to SMEs trended downwards throughout the financial crisis, the interest rate spread between SMEs and large firms increased, including during the tentative recovery of 2010. The easier credit terms for large companies suggests that smaller firms were considered to be a higher risk with poorer business prospects, the report says.

SMEs are crucial engines of economic growth, jobs and social cohesion, according to the OECD. In many countries they represent around 99% of all firms. Access to finance remains one of the biggest challenges in the creation, survival and growth of small firms.

Analysing  data from 18 countries, the report finds that business loans to SMEs fell sharply during the recession and although they picked up somewhat in 2010, they generally failed to reach their 2007 levels. Venture and growth capital also suffered a big drop during the period studied.