Family business are very unique with major involvement of members of particular family. It is clear that family businesses comprise a very significant proportion of business throughout the world. It is agreed that family business cannot be confined to demographic criteria i.e. number of family members working or the percentage of shareholding of family members in the business. Other factors such as intention, involvement and influence are also becoming increasingly important when defining whether a business is family business or not.(Lumphin et al, 2008)
There are various financial intermediaries which helps the family business in managing their finances. Some are better suited for long term fund requirements and others are better suited for short term requirements.(Allen F. & Santomero A, 1998) The different financial intermediaries that are worth noting are banks, venture capital and informal credit market.
The major financing source is Banks, which however are required to limit their exposure to any one borrower to no more than 15 per cent of their equity, and many choose a much smaller threshold. This limit on borrower concentration has the effect of restricting business lending by small banks primarily to small business loans. Moreover, small banks are better for small and medium size firms and family firms as they provide them with personalized services that larger banks generally are unable to provide to these firms. Non-banking financial intermediaries (Insurance companies, pension funds, mutual funds, etc) are normally more operational in rich countries rather than underdeveloped nations.
Informal credit also plays a key role in the financing field which are not regulated by any banking authorities. However, they are very important in the financial system and even more important in developing countries such as India and China because they act as a catalyst between fast growing firms and regulated financial sector. There are three important categories of informal credit lenders. The most important are indigenous bankers who function as commercial banks. They take deposits and give loans but they are not under any formal regulatory authorities. The secondly there are commercial financiers who lend their own funds and finally there are brokers who helps in connecting the lender and the borrowers. (Strahan, P. & Weston, J., 1996)
Capital markets are good source of funds as equity capital is not serviced by any interest factor and the shareholders are paid dividend only when company is doing well. But it is also not free from imperfections. (Morris et al, 1997) There is a problem of asymmetric information between provider and user of fund lead to a gap between the cost of external and internal financing which makes raising fund from market expensive on one hand and on the other the investor may be reluctant to invest in a new firm. The capital markets are also an important source of funds for family owned businesses but they are not a viable option for small and medium scale firms as there is a general belief that they would not get correct valuation. Again family firms generally try and keep their financials undisclosed but when a firm goes for an IPO they have to disclose information that the firm may not be willing to disclose.
The work of venture capitalists is not restricted to financing these firms but they also help in overall development of these firms by helping them to overcome their shortcomings. Both types of support imply a positive impact on growth rate of the venture backed firms. Engel (2008) found that venture capital funding has a positive impact on fast growing firms with innovative products.
Written on 24 March
Revised on 10 May
