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Finance & Banking vocabulary · Banks & Institutions

SME

Meaning in finance & banking, with examples

abbreviationCommon term

In finance & banking, SME means: Short for small and medium-sized enterprise: a company below certain limits for staff and turnover. In the EU, SMEs have fewer than 250 employees.

In Turkish: KOBİ, küçük ve orta büyüklükteki işletme

How it is used

Said letter by letter: S-M-E. Banks have SME banking teams, SME loans and SME customers. In the US people more often say 'small business', and some use SMB (small and medium-sized business).

Example sentences

  1. Our SME loans grew faster than our corporate loans this year.

  2. Many SMEs struggle to provide the collateral that banks ask for.

Common collocations

  • SME banking
  • SME loans
  • SME customers
  • SME lending
  • corporate bankingBanking services for large companies, such as loans, cash management, trade finance and foreign exchange.
  • retail bankingBanking services for individual customers, such as current accounts, savings, cards, personal loans and mortgages.
  • working capitalThe money a business has available for its daily operations, calculated as current assets minus current liabilities.
  • collateralAn asset, such as property, cash or securities, that a borrower pledges to a lender and that the lender can sell if the loan is not repaid.

More terms: Banks & Institutions

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.