Sekerbank provides an exciting example of a full-service commercial bank that has chosen to specialize in serving smaller businesses in Turkey, specifically micro enterprises and craftsmen. This case study identifies the key choices that Sekerbank has made to serve these clients and keep the focus of the bank's operations on them.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision released a second consultative paper on the Standardized Approach to Credit Risk that withdrew proposals late last year that would have sharply increased risk weights and capital requirements for a broad range of bank credit to SMEs.

Despite the importance of SMEs to Brazil's economy, the country is at the bottom of the World Bank's Doing Business index. It placed just 174th (out of 189) in this year's Starting a Business ranking. At least part of that can be attributed to the difficulty of raising startup capital, especially among young entrepreneurs. This blog notes that equity crowdfunding can be an immensely powerful tool in supporting entrepreneurs.