Search

Purpose - The paper aims to assess the credit financing of microenterprises and farmers by commercial and cooperative banks in pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 subperiods. Research method - In the study, we apply the Kruskal-Wallis test and Wilcoxon ranksum pairwise comparison test with the adjustment based on the Benjamini and Hochberg method to check whether there are significant differences in median values of banking loan categories for microenterprises and farmers among commercial and cooperative banks in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods. Results - We observe that microenterprises mostly use commercial banks, while farmers depend majorly on cooperative banks. Additionally, farmers use investment loans more often than microenterprises. We show a significant decline in loan sales and enquiries among microenterprises and farmers during COVID-19. Moreover, we observe the median values of all analysed categories show significant differences between commercial and cooperative banks. It concerns both investment and working capital loans. Originality / value / implications / recommendations - Our contribution is that we analyse this issue from the perspective of leading suppliers offering banking loans, i.e., commercial and cooperative banks. We detect whether analysed banking loan categories differ significantly in the group of microenterprises and farmers across commercial and cooperative banks in Poland in the above-mentioned periods. To our knowledge, there are no similar studies. The results of our study might be helpful for banking institutions and policymakers in the context of a potential future pandemic or crisis situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public guarantee programmes aim to improve access to financing for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and support entrepreneurship. The objective of our paper is to present and assess the de minimis guarantee programme for SMEs in the wholesale and retail trade sector in Poland. In detail, we analyze changes in the number and value of credit guarantees from national and regional perspectives. The research period covers the first eight years of the program functioning, i.e., 2013-2020. Data was gathered from Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), a Polish national development bank. The study reveals visible fluctuations in the number and value of de minimis guarantees obtained by the SMEs in the wholesale and retail trade sector. However, in 2019-2020 we observed their substantial growth. SMEs in the analysed sector primarily use the de minimis guarantee programme to secure revolving working capital loans. Micro-enterprises obtain 75% of the total number and 40% of the total value of guarantees. We observe substantial regional differences in the number and value of granted guarantees among 16 Polish voivodeships rooted in the voivodeship size. The t-test analysis confirmed that both numbers and values of credit guarantees are significantly greater in 2019-2020, at a 1% significance level. Such results may indicate an increased need for external support for analysed SMEs due to changes in the de minimis guarantee program, stricter bank lending policy and the harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeszyty Naukowe SGGW: Ekonomika i Organizacja Logistyki is the property of Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Faculty of Economic Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The novel coronavirus pandemic has hit the Polish economy, including business activity. The paper aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the credit financing of microenterprises and farmers in Poland. We analyse investment loans and working capital loans, particularly the changes in the number and value of these loans, the number of loan enquiries, and the share of non-performing loans. The research period covers the two-year period, including the pre-COVID-19 subperiod from March 2019 till February 2020 and the COVID-19 subperiod from March 2020 till February 2021. We obtain monthly data from BIK. The BIK Group is the main source of credit and economic information in Poland. The study reveals a significant decrease in the number and value of investment loans and working capital loans during the COVID-19 period compared to the pre-COVID-19 period both in groups of microenterprises and farmers. Surprisingly, despite the difficult time for entrepreneurs, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced the number of loans enquiries. As we expected, the number and value of non-performing loans increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the value of non-performing investment loans in the group of microenterprises increased marginally. Our research can be helpful for decision-makers and credit market participants, including national governments, financial market supervisory institutions, banks, and micro-entrepreneurs, and farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]