Spain's interest rates hurting small businesses

By Marc Castro

Sep 09, 2013 11:42 AM EDT

Despite the expansion of Spanish manufacturing and services sectors of the country, which is the first time in the past two years, the lack of available funds for lending clearly hindered the growth of the country. This threatens the possibilities for the future, as only 2% of the businesses employe more than 20 individuals. 

The current situation has overshadowed the promised recovery program from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy coming out of recession in the past couple of years.

Another alarming statistic is the increasing number of companies seeking credtor protection, which jumped by 26% in August compared to the same period last year. The grim facts come from a report published by Informa D&B. The report further states that 73% of businesses in the same predicament had employed less then 20 people. These figures were confirmed by national statistics from Spain.

According to Bank of Spain Chief Economist Jose Luis Malo de Molina last July, deleveraging in the current economy would result in funding restrictions for smaller enterprises as they pay interest rates between two and three percentage points higher compared to other areas.

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