Central Bank of Slovenia survey finds firms reporting improved access to finance and rising green transition investment

The Central Bank of Slovenia published findings from its 2024 Survey on Access to Finance of Enterprises, indicating that firms saw improved access to most forms of financing after several years of negative trends and remain optimistic about access to finance in 2025. Access to financing was again assessed as one of the least pressing business issues. The survey points to improvements across key limiting factors, with firms continuing to cite the general economic environment and access to government incentive measures as the largest obstacles to performance, while reporting a positive view of banks’ willingness to lend. Investment is increasingly being financed from firms’ own resources, which has reduced demand for external financing, and the number of firms that did not apply for external finance rose for a second consecutive year in 2024, mainly because they had sufficient internal funds. On the green transition, 54% of firms reported an impact on their business in 2024; among those, more than half are developing a transition plan, a quarter have already produced one, and 74% are already investing or planning to invest, most commonly in energy efficiency, renewables, reductions in water consumption and waste, and recycling.