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down by firm size, branch of economic activity, country, firm age, financialautonomy, and ownership. The survey is conducted twice a year: once by theECB covering euro area countries and once in cooperation with the EC coveringall EU countries plus some neighbouring countries. The EC published the firstsurvey in 2009 and it became an annual publication in 2013. The data from SAFE provides all kinds of information about the financial needsof companies, tendencies in external financing conditions, and the expectationsof companies concerning future needs. More precisely, the survey providesinformation on the financing conditions faced by SMEs compared with thoseof large firms during the past six months, in particular regarding: financialsituation, growth, innovation and need for external financing, use of internal andexternal funds, experience with applications for external financing, use of loans,loan size and the reasons for accessing specific loans, views on how accessibledifferent types of available financing are, and expectations on future financing.The data is accessible and open for downloading and analysing.n 2. 2. 1. Types of finance for SMEs used in the EU According to the SAFE methodology, the most relevant forms of financing forEuropean SMEs are:%u25aa Trade credit %u2013 paying suppliers at a later agreed date, usually 30, 60, or 90days after the delivery of the purchased goods or services.%u25aa Equity capital %u2013 raising capital through the sale of shares in your enterprise.This is usually associated with the financing of companies listed on anexchange via public offerings. It can also involve a private sale in which thetransaction between investors and the enterprise takes place directly. Equitycapital includes quoted and unquoted shares or other forms of equityprovided by the owners themselves or by external investors, including venturecapital or business angels. Venture capital enterprises or business angels areindividual investors providing capital or know-how to young innovativeenterprises.%u25aa Factoring %u2013 selling invoices to a factoring company, which obtains acompany%u2019s debt and has to collect it. It will make a profit by paying less cashthan the face value of the invoice.%u25aa Internal funds (retained earnings or sale of assets) %u2013 the cash or cashequivalent, for example, resulting from savings, retained earnings, or sale ofassets.%u25aa Credit lines and credit cards, overdrafts %u2013 a credit line is a pre-arrangedloan that can be used in full or in part, at discretion and with limited advancedwarning. The difference between a bank loan and a credit line is that in thecase of a bank loan, the precise amount of the loan and the dates of752.2 Access to Finance for SMEs in the EU