In current economic conditions, accessing financing has never been so easy.
The low interest rates that govern the market make it easier for many groups to obtain resources with which to continue their economic activity. Among them, the group of self-employed workers stands out, one of the hardest hit by the crisis, which has diminished their ability to obtain financial resources.
In this sense, the situation has improved significantly during the first quarter of this year 2015. According to a survey carried out by the Cream Bank, the granting of loans to Spanish professionals and SMEs has approached for the first time so far in crisis European SMEs if measured by the rejection rate, 11% in the case of Spanish SMEs and 12% for the rest of Europe.
In addition, and according to a report published by the Fitch rating agency, it is expected that delinquencies in bank loans will fall around five percentage points compared to last year, thanks to the marked decrease in delinquencies of those self-employed and SMEs related to the construction sector, which have reduced their delinquency rate to 8% compared to 10% the previous year.
These are certainly encouraging data as a result of the improvement in the expectations of the Spanish economy and the necessary deleveraging process that for a few years has been increasing the solvency of entities and individuals in general, in addition to aid in matters of financing that the Cream Bank is providing with its liquidity injections to the system.
Irregular income, the great handicap for self-employed professionals
One of the biggest problems that the self-employed people find to access bank financing is related to the irregularity or discontinuity in the income obtained over time, with stages where the income is more or less regular and with others where it is difficult, not to say impossible, get work ahead due to lack of opportunities.
In these circumstances, banks are still reluctant to lend, especially considering that we have not yet fully emerged from the crisis. However, the self-employed and SMEs are filling this handicap with alternative sources of financing that serve to grow their business.
Collateralized loans remain the problem
In any case, as has always happened, guarantees are the biggest problem for the self-employed. The need to provide a guarantee with which to guarantee the payment of the loan has left many self-employed in bankruptcy, with a debt for life and with few real possibilities of recovering.
However, with the Second Opportunity Law promoted by the Government, a way is enabled by which any self-employed person can access an extrajudicial payment procedure with which to obtain more advantageous conditions, agree to moratoriums on payments of up to three years and withdrawals up to 25%. It is a possibility that tries to eliminate the fears that all those natural persons who carried out a professional activity on their own had, by exonerating the self-employed person from all liability in case of insolvency.
So is it easier now?
The legislative measures in favor of natural persons, together with the better economic prospects and the opening of the credit tap by commercial banks thanks to the almost free financing of the Cream Bank, are good news for self-employed workers, who will be able to access credit in better condition.
However, it is advisable to consider what are the best financing options before accessing what a financial institution offers.
