“Eurozone Unemployment At Record Highs; Private Sector Lending Drops First Time Ever”
By Daniel at 1 November, 2009, 12:21 pm
“Despite record-low interest rates and efforts to flood the eurozone with funds, the region’s banks have cut the volume of loans to customers. Loans to eurozone households and firms fell 0.3pc in September from a year earlier, the European Central Bank (ECB) said.”
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/10/eurozone-unemployment-at-record-highs.html
In Europe as well as the US, bank lending to the private sector is dismal. All of our small companies in Europe have had their bank lines tightened or eliminated.
In the US the only aggressive bank for small technology companies is Silicon Valley Bank that has no exposure to mortgages or commercial real estate. The other banks including Comerica that has been very aggressive over the last 10 years has now pulled in their horns although they are still bidding on accounts.
The only cheap debt capital is from the Export Import Bank of the United States, a government supported capital source for small and medium sized businesses. The Ex-Im bank has programs for financing exports and international distributors at very low rates. SVB and other banks offer a service to help businesses through the government process.
- VC
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