An analysis of the UK market and the historical development of banking arrangements (Sections 2-3): The study presents an economic analysis of the market for SME bank lending in the UK, summarising the existing evidence on the market structure and the outcomes it delivers for SMEs. This is complemented by a summary of the historical context to the UK SME bank lending market, including regulatory and policy milestones and major consolidation waves over the last 50 years.
A cross country analysis (Sections 4-7): The study investigates how the UK SME bank lending market compares internationally, using in depth studies on Germany, Italy and the USA. lt uses publicly available evidence to consider the role of SMEs in the economy, the characteristics of the SME bank lending market, including the availability and pricing of bank loans, and the policy interventions that have been made in the market for SME lending. The report draws out the main differences in market conditions between the comparator countries and the UK, highlighting potential lessons for the UK and examples of success that emerge from the analysis.
The potential for further investigation (Section 8): The final part of the report considers the feasibility of a potential study on the relationship between competition and lending. lt considers what work has already been done in this area elsewhere and the extent to which the options for further UK analysis might be constrained by data availability.