Almost a third of companies have problems accessing credit facilities, a study by the Malta Business Bureau has found.

The survey, released yesterday, showed the situation was more acute among start-up companies, with three-quarters of them making use of traditional loan facilities that did not necessarily cater for their needs.

George Vella, president of the MBB, urged the Government to use more EU funds as financial engineering instruments to provide funds for small and medium enterprises.

The current package amounts to €10 million under the EU’s Jeremie scheme, expanded to €50 million with the participation of Bank of Valletta.

Mr Vella said this was not enough, noting that Jeremie funds were used in other EU countries as seed capital, loan guarantees and other initiatives. He also called for a careful screening process of companies at Malta Enterprise because some €5 million in grants were lost when banks refused credit facilities after they conducted their own screening process.

The main findings were presented to Industry Minister Chris Cardona and Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella, who said the Government was committed to work with financial institutions so they could provide working and venture capital funds.