The Impact of Basel II on Small and Medium sized Enterprises in Germany

This dissertation examines the current discussion about the introduction of the New Basel Capital Accord and the impact it will have on Small and Medium sized Enterprises in Germany. SMEs or the ‘Mittelstand’ are the carrying pillar for the German economy: 20 million employees work for SMEs and produce a value added subject to VAT of 49% of the German economy. These establishments are not only innovative and progressive in the way they conduct their business; its owners and managers are also an important factor for the aggregate demand in Germany. With reflection on the requirements of Basel II the major weaknesses of SMEs are revealed: their provision with own funds is traditionally low compared to large companies and bank loans present a main source of debt finance. Minimum capital requirements are an essential part of banking supervision and banking regulation and help ensuring the financial stability of an economy. Financial stability is vital for a country because it helps to absorb losses and protects consumers from the loss of their investments. This was not so in Thailand when the Asian Crisis started in 1997. One reason for the Asian Crisis, among others, was inadequate banking supervision.

The Basel Committee has produced a set of minimum requirements for effective banking supervision which can be applied to every country. The so called ‘1988 Accord’ or ‘Basel I’ is currently being modified into ‘Basel II’ and likely to be introduced in the beginning of 2007. This paper is mainly concerned with the change in the calculation of minimum capital requirements (MCR), i.e. how much capital credit institutes put aside as a cushion against future losses. The main impact of Basel II on SMEs in Germany is that the future calculations of the MRC will depend on the company’s individual solvency and not on a fixed percentage of a loan.