Unused Debt Capacity: International Evidence

Abstract

This paper examines the links between firm age, firm size and the ability to obtain capital in a sample of European SMEs. The results indicate that age and size are positively linked to debt capacity. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that it is crucial to distinguish between bank debt financing and trade credit. Young and small firms are more subject to denial due to the higher moral hazard they represent for a bank. Only very young firms are more constrained for trade credit. The results of simultaneous analysis show that trade credit is positively related to bank credit financing, thus providing empirical support for the complementarity of these forms of financing.