Polskie przedsiębiorstwa jako kredytobiorcy - spojrzenie na strategie banków z drugiej strony lustra

The article presents the opinions of enterprises about the relationship between lending banks and their clients. The authors confront these opinions with previously analyzed views and strategies declared by Polish banks. The article is based on a survey conducted on a sample of enterprises via the Internet in December 2005. The survey shows that enterprises are fully aware of the diversified treatment of borrowers by banks, even though banks declare that they treat everyone in the same way. The basic criterion seems to be the size of the company. Although many enterprises use the services of several banks at the same time, contrary to expectations, they tend to be loyal—in the sense of the long-standing nature of their contacts with their servicing banks. Companies generally attach more weight to their own reputation than their servicing banks. They also reveal a smaller (than widely believed) level of informational shortcomings involving providing incomplete data. Relations between banks and borrowers are largely influenced by the fragmentation of the banking sector, which encourages aggressive competition for the best clients and restricts access to loans for high-risk borrowers. It is possible to expect that small and medium-sized enterprises will find it increasingly easier to obtain loans as the banking sector undergoes progressive concentration, accompanied by growing competition from the international bond market.