تامین مالی در شرکت های کوچک و متوسط هند: مصاحبه با رانجانا کومار، CMD سابق، بانک هند، کمیساریای اعمال مراقبت، کمیسیون اعمال مراقبت مرکزی

A major bottleneck to the growth of the vital Indian small and medium enterprises (SME) sector is its lack of adequate access to finance. This paper examines the major issues in the financing of SMEs in the Indian context, such as the information asymmetry facing banks and the efficacy of measures such as credit scoring for SMEs; whether transaction lending would be adequate to address the information issues or would lending have to be based on a relationship with the SME, using both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ information; and whether the size and origin of the bank affect the availability of credit to SMEs. Ranjana Kumar, a prominent Indian banker who also served, till recently, as the Vigilance Commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission, speaks on some aspects that are raised in the paper, such as the importance of the credit appraisal and risk assessment processes in today’s banking landscape and the role that banks can play in developing the SME sector in India.

In recent years, while the Indian economy has been growing at over 6%, the production from micro, small and medium enterprises has been growing at over 11% between 2002–2003 and 2007–2008 (Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, 2008–2009). In India, banks are the dominant channel for providing funds to industry. However their importance in funding smaller firms is even more pronounced since most small and medium enterprises (SMEs1) are not able to access the capital markets for funds. In recent years, governments and policy makers have been giving considerable attention to facilitate the development of the SME sector, as a strong and vibrant SME sector provides a good foundation for entrepreneurship and innovation in the economy.

The SME sector in India, which includes the micro, small and medium enterprises, constitutes an important part of the economy. However, a major concern for the SMEs is the availability of an adequate amount of finances. The government has recognised the key role that the SME segment plays in creating new enterprises and in providing employment to a large segment of the population and has adopted several public policy measures to enhance flow of credit to the sector. One of the prominent measures used to ensure adequate flow of funds to the SME sector is through regulation requiring banks to provide at least 40% of loans to targeted areas which include the micro, small and medium enterprises. Although directed lending would increase the flow of funds to the SME sector, studies such as Banerjee et al. (2003) suggest that SME firms are credit constrained. One of the significant issues in lending to SMEs is the use of both ‘hard’ data such as financial information, as well as ‘soft’ data such as feedback from vendors and other family members, which become important inputs towards understanding the credit risk of the business. The challenge for banks is to bridge the information asymmetry so as to take the appropriate lending decision so that the good firms are not financially constrained, and at the same time, cut down on exposures to bad credit risks. Measures such as credit scoring for SMEs should improve the quality of financial information and enable greater funding for the sector. The SARFAESI Act and the strengthening of legal provisions to take possession of assets used as security has improved the legal environment for lending in India, thus lowering the cost of lending and enforcement of contracts. Ghosh (2006) reports in a study covering the period 1995–2004, that since liberalisation, cash flow has become less important for the firm’s investments, implying that financial liberalisation improves the access of financially constrained firms to external finance, and thus financing has eased for smaller firms. While it may be too early to conclude that SME firms in India are not financially constrained, the reforms in the financial sector and the improvement in the lending infrastructure has certainly improved access to finance for small firms. Some issues raised in this paper were put to Ranjana Kumar, a well-known banker in India, to get insights on the practical matters relating to issues raised in the academic literature concerning bank financing of SMEs and the associated issue of credit risk management.