ab0cd European financial integration and the financing of local businesses in the new EU member states Ulrich Volz Abstract This paper explores the degree of financial market integration between the new and old EU member states. It also considers the likely effects of the ongoing integration process on the new members’ financial sectors. In particular, the paper discusses the implications of the high concentration of financial services and the dominance of foreign-owned institutions for the provision of financial services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the ten accession countries. Using enterprise data on 2,427 firms, the paper finds that access to finance still constitutes a major problem for business development and that financing conditions are considerably more difficult for SMEs than for larger entities. Keywords: financial integration, large and foreign banks, banking competition, SME finance JEL Classification Number: G21, G3, O16, P34 Address for Correspondence: HWWA, World Economy Department, Neuer Jungfernstieg 21, 20347 Hamburg, Germany. Phone: +49 40 42834 276; Fax: +49 40 42834 451; E-mail:
[email protected]. Ulrich Volz is at the Free University of Berlin and the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA). The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The paper was written during a stay at the EBRD’s Office of the Chief Economist from September 2003 – May 2004. Funding by the German Academic Exchange Service and the German Merit Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. The author would like to thank the Office of the Chief Economist for its great hospitality and support and Alan Bevan, Victoria Chick, Chris Cviic, Ralph De Haas, Elisabetta Falcetti, Steven Fries, Tanja Lysenko, Peter Sanfey and Anita Taci for fruitful discussions and valuable comments and suggestions.