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Scope
Data presentation - Summary description

The survey covers micro (1 to 9 employees), small (10 to 49 employees), medium-sized (50 to 249 employees) and large firms (250 or more employees) and it provides evidence on the financing conditions faced by SMEs compared with those of large firms during the past six months. In addition to a breakdown into firm size classes, it provides evidence across branches of economic activity, euro area countries, firm age, financial autonomy of the firms, and ownership of the firms.

Part of the survey is run by the ECB every six months to assess the latest developments of the financing conditions of firms in the euro area. The more comprehensive survey, run together with the European Commission, was initially conducted every two years, i.e. in 2009H1, 2011H1 and 2013H1. As from the wave 2014H1, the extended survey is run on the annual basis.

Data presentation - Detailed description
Reference area coverage

The survey covers micro (1 to 9 employees), small (10 to 49 employees), medium-sized (50 to 249 employees) and large firms (250 or more employees) and it provides evidence on the financing conditions faced by SMEs compared with those of large firms during the past six months. In addition to a breakdown into firm size classes, it provides evidence across branches of economic activity, euro area countries, firm age, financial autonomy of the firms, and ownership of the firms.

Part of the survey is run by the ECB every six months to assess the latest developments of the financing conditions of firms in the euro area. The more comprehensive survey, run together with the European Commission, was initially conducted every two years, i.e. in 2009H1, 2011H1 and 2013H1. As from the wave 2014H1, the extended survey is run on the annual basis.

Sector coverage

The sample sizes for each economic activity were selected to ensure sufficient representativeness across four major activities: industry, construction, trade and other services. The statistical stratification was based on economic activities at the one-digit level of the European NACE classification (presented here according to Rev. 2). Enterprises from mining and quarrying (B), manufacturing (C), and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (D), and water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (E) were combined under “industry”. “Construction” is simply construction (F). “Trade” includes wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods (G). “Services” includes enterprises in transport and storage (H), accommodation and food service activities (I), information and communication (J), real estate activities (L), professional, scientific and technical activities (M), administrative and support service activities (N), arts, entertainment and recreation (R) and other service activities (S).

Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A), financial and insurance activities (K), public administration and defence; compulsory social security (O), education (P), human health and social work activities (Q), activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use (T), activities of extra-territorial organisations and bodies (U), holding companies (NACE 64.20) and private non-profit institutions were excluded from the sample.

Time coverage

The data is available from 2009.

Methodological information
Time period

Semi-annual

Statistical concepts and definitions

For information about the naming convention (series key dimensions and metadata), refer to the SAFE underlying DSD (ECB_SAFE) maintained by the ECB.

Statistical processing
Data compilation
Administrative Information
Title

Survey on Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE)

Data source

European Central Bank and European Commission

Technical Information
Catalog

Download the series catalogue containing a full list of series and associated metadata of the dataset SAFE in CSV format (zipped)

Dataset last update
28 November 2023 11:05 CET
Miscellaneous
Metadata last update
10 November 2022 11:04 CET