Abstract:

Small and medium-sized businesses play an important role in the development of the modern economy, which directly affects the standard of living of the population in particular, as well as ensuring the stability of modern society as a whole. To perform their significant functions for the economy as a whole, and for the population in particular, small and medium-sized businesses need credit security. The main role in this issue is assigned to banks, which are one of the largest participants in the financial market. It should be noted that the share of small and medium-sized businesses in the structure of lending by banks is insignificant. The main reasons for this situation are: low profitability of lending to small and medium-sized businesses for banks; difficulty in assessing the real financial condition of the subjects under consideration; high risks of non-repayment of the loan. Based on this, the relevance of the study is due to the need to identify the degree of development of lending to small and medium-sized businesses, which is especially important at the regional level. To analyze the state of lending to small and medium-sized businesses, the volume of loans issued to legal entities and individuals in the territorial context was analyzed; their share in the total volume was determined; their comparative analysis was carried out; and the types of economic activities where the largest volumes of loans for the development of small and medium-sized businesses are concentrated were also identified. Conducted in the study, on an actual topic, allowed us to draw conclusions about the state of development of lending to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as to offer recommendations for improving an important aspect of the country's economy.