Questionnaire changes break comparability in enterprise finance data
Question wording creates breaks in enterprise financing series, according to European Central Bank (ECB) documentation published on October 26, 2026. The SAFE questionnaire history tracks definitions and revisions through Q3 2026.
Wording changes the financing series
The Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE) documents a structural break in financing-source relevance from the first half of 2014.
Question Q4 began asking whether firms had used an instrument or considered using it, followed by a separate question on recent use.
The reformulation increased responses classifying sources as not relevant and reduced those classifying them as relevant; earlier data are not directly comparable.
Replacing net interest expenses with interest expenses also broke that series because respondents had difficulty with the original concept.
The revised measure records interest paid on debt without subtracting interest income.
Firm size has precise boundaries
Employment bands are 1-9, 10-49, 50-249 and 250 or more employees.
Full-time and part-time staff each count as one, provided they work at least 12 hours weekly; unpaid family workers and regular freelancers are excluded.
Annual turnover includes domestic and foreign locations.
Its bands are up to €500,000, above €500,000 to €1 million, above €1 million to €2 million, above €2 million to €10 million, above €10 million to €50 million and above €50 million.
The original band up to €2 million was subdivided because it contained around half of enterprises.
Definitions before comparisons
Financing trends require attention to questionnaire definitions, not just reported movements.
The documented breaks limit direct comparisons across revisions.
Changes in response categories therefore cannot automatically be read as changes in firms' financing behavior.