Wholesale and retail trade sector in Poland: use of de minimis credit guarantees by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises

Abstract

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 A. ZAJĄC, M. WIELECHOWSKI, K. CZECH WyżSza Szkoła GoSpodarki euroreGionalneJ iM. alcide de GaSperi W JózefoWie 276 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.