Last Wednesday, March 11th, INBONIS RATING, in collaboration with the SME Finance Forum, Managed by the IFC (International Finance Corporation), hosted a high-level expert deliberation in Paris focused on a critical challenge: Long Term Finance for SMEs in Europe.

The session, held at Inbonis’s stunning Bourrienne office in Paris, was opened by Raphaelle Aubert (Head of the IFC Paris Office) and Alberto Sanchez Navalpotro (CEO of Inbonis Rating), who set the stage for a collaborative network of practitioners committed to solving the structural obstacles SMEs face in accessing long-term investment.

We were also honored to feature strategic keynotes from Antonio H. GARCIA DEL RIEGO (EESC) and Sebastien Raspiller (AMF), whose insights on the EU’s structural capital deficit and replicable financing models provided the foundation for our work.

Following these perspectives, Elena Herrero-Beaumont, PhD, Head of Research and Institutional Relations at Inbonis, acted as facilitator, applying Ethosfera’s method for ethical deliberations. Senior experts from banking, asset management, and regulatory bodies engaged in intensive sub-group deliberations structured under this methodology. The focus was clear: identifying how to practically align regulation (such as CRR3) and EU savings into a genuine financing engine for SMEs in Europe.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the participants for their invaluable contributions. It was truly inspiring to see such a high level of commitment and shared purpose among professionals from across the financial ecosystem. We believe it is precisely through these authentic expert exchanges that we can bridge the gap between high-level strategy and real-world impact, creating the foundation for meaningful agreements and practical measures that support the real economy.

 What’s next? We are currently finalizing the conclusions report from this session. Stay tuned—we will be sharing the key findings very soon!