The problem of delinquency in SMEs: 280,000 million euros uncollected from their clients

• Companies rescued by the ICO begin to file for bankruptcy

The

and the

that Spanish companies have had to bear since the middle of last year has caused an

suffered by small and medium-sized companies, up to a level of

commercial

at the end of 2021, 17.3% more in year-on-year terms.

This is reflected in the Delinquency Observatory published this Monday by the

employers' association , which explains that "the

together with the consequences that the pandemic crisis left on companies lead to an increase in intra-company delinquency (. ..) Companies are suffering more and more", they lament.

They warn that delinquency "in addition to generating a

income statements of Spanish companies, also generates a

, since the delay in paying the amounts and pending invoices reduces the possibility of obtaining a return in the market, in the form of interest to the creditors of the commercial debt".

This means that if the SMEs had collected that volume owed to them on time, they could have invested that money and obtained around

that they have stopped receiving.

That amount, their opportunity cost, would be equivalent to what they could demand from their debtors in

and is 15.8% higher than the same amount of the previous year.

The increase compared to 2020 is mainly due to the fact that

.

In fact, Cepyme points out, commercial debt with late payment is growing faster than commercial debt itself.

This rise in delinquency has affected

, while 75% continue to suffer the same levels of delinquency as last year, according to the barometer.

Although SMEs suffer delays in payments by their clients, they are also victims of the

.

In fact, delinquency in the public sector has risen for 10% of companies.

doomed for bankruptcy

Those with financial muscle can withstand greater delays in collection, but those in a more precarious situation cannot deal with this situation.

"2% of the companies that suffer from default

for this reason, 5% believe that it will lead to a situation of

, 4% point to a reduction in their structure, for 10% it will mean more need for financing and for 18% an increase in financing costs", explains the organization led by

In addition, 12% believe that they could

for this reason and 30% regret a

On average, Spanish companies took

, compared to 82.2 days in 2020, and

.

"Delinquency remains stable at very high rates and continues to be a serious problem for companies, putting their liquidity at risk and

, especially for smaller ones. In fact, the total amount of debt between companies with delinquency continues to increase

".

Cepyme warns that many companies survive with assisted breathing and, despite the aid they have received, they cannot afford their payments.

"Despite initially benefiting from the lax conditions for access to financing adopted during the pandemic, some companies are now in a

. The fact that this part of the productive fabric has continued to develop a business model of reduced viability, in addition to the end of the granting of extraordinary aid, has led to the appearance of

"they point out.

Around

would fall into the category of

, of which up to 62% are small or reduced in size, according to Funcas data collected by employers.

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