Description

Between August 2019 and September 2021, Belgian Bankers Academy conducted a comprehensive annual survey for the EIB on bank lending practices in the Southern Neighbourhood, covering North Africa and the Middle East. The objective was to provide the EIB and its partners each year with a clear view of financing trends, operational constraints and areas for improvement in private sector lending.

1. Methodological Design

• Scoping workshop with the EIB to define the strategic objectives, including the focus on SMEs versus large enterprises and the geographical coverage.

• Development of the SNBLS questionnaire, comprising 40 questions structured around eight modules:

  • Definition of SMEs and mid-caps

  • Credit supply

  • Lending organisation and technology

  • Credit standards

  • Lending constraints

  • Customer satisfaction

  • Specific financial instruments

  • Cyclical developments

• Joint validation with the EIB and European Commission teams to ensure comparability across countries.

2. Deployment and Data Collection

• Selection of a panel of licensed banks in eight countries, covering more than 70% of major banking groups and including regional and local banks.

• Online data collection through a dedicated platform, automated reminders and personalised follow-up of non-respondents, resulting in a final response rate of 85%.

• Field support through telephone interviews and local workshops to assist IT departments and credit managers in recording the required data.

3. Analysis and Reporting

• Statistical processing of responses, with segmentation by country and type of institution, together with cross-country benchmarking.

• Preparation of eight country reports, each five to eight pages long, covering:

  • Key lending indicators, including average loan amount, maturity and interest rate

  • Main barriers to credit provision, including processes, technology and governance

  • Borrower expectations and satisfaction levels

• Preparation of a regional synthesis report for the EIB, combining charts, trends and strategic recommendations for the continuation of the survey.

4. Sustainability of the Initiative

• Delivery of an operational toolkit to the EIB, including guidance for updating the questionnaire, follow-up procedures, a country report template and an automated dashboard using Excel and Power BI.

• Training of EIB teams in the SNBLS methodology, enabling the annual survey to be renewed without external assistance.

• Regional dissemination workshops to share the findings with the European Commission, local regulators and participating banks.

  
  

The survey became a strategic tool for the EIB to guide its private sector support activities and regional financing operations.

BBA’s Role

• Methodological design and management of the survey

• Drafting and adjustment of the SNBLS questionnaire

• Development of the online data collection procedure

• Operational monitoring of the surveys and follow-up activities

• Statistical analysis and preparation of country briefs