Banks Should Lend More to Middle East SMEs - By the Institute of International Finance

Bank lending in the Middle East and North Africa is still not sufficiently reaching the private sector, in particular small-and-medium-sized enterprises, posing an obstacle to faster economic growth in the region, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF).SMEs are finding it tough to gain access to credit markets with an average of only 8% of all regional bank lending directed at that part of the economy, according to World Bank figures. Lending to the private sector in the MENA countries is that constrained it lags other emerging regions such as Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.