Survey on the access to finance of enterprises

The survey on the access to finance of enterprises (SAFE) provides information on the latest developments in the financial situation of enterprises, documents trends in the need for and availability of external financing, and measures firms’ expectations about their selling prices, costs, and employment, as well as about euro area inflation. The survey results are broken down by firm size, sector, country, firm age, financial autonomy and ownership.

The survey is conducted every quarter as of 2024 Q1 (formerly every six months), three quarters by the ECB covering euro area countries (see results below) and once in cooperation with the European Commission covering all EU countries plus some neighbouring countries.

Survey respondents

Every quarter, usually in February, June, September and December, we contact thousands of businesses in Europe to ask what financing conditions they are experiencing and how easily they can access finance.

Verian, a research company, in cooperation with GDCC (Global Data Collection Company), an independent market research firm, carries out this survey on behalf of the ECB and the European Commission. The interviews are conducted over a five-week period mainly by telephone, although respondents may also complete an online questionnaire.

You may have been contacted as a potential respondent. If so, we would greatly appreciate your participation. If you have any questions about the survey, please email us at survey.accesstofinance@ecb.europa.eu.

Official letters from the ECB and European Commission to the SAFE respondents