Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in economic systems, driving employment and growth. As the regulatory emphasis on sustainability increases, alongside the mandatory production of sustainability reports for listed SMEs, the need for comprehensive credit rating models, incorporating both financial and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, has become critical.
To address these factors, this policy brief presents key insights from the study “Robustness analysis in an augmented credit rating for Small and medium-sized enterprises”, by S. Angilella, M. Doumpos, S. Mazzù, M.R. Pappalardo, and C. Zopounidis (2025). The study proposes an augmented credit rating methodology for SMEs, using the sigma-mu efficiency analysis, proposed by Greco et al. (2009), and enhanced by Angilella et al. (2024).
A key contribution of this study is an extended robustness analysis of both the sample composition and evaluation criteria, to ensure the model’s reliability in identifying financial and ESG factors that contribute to SMEs’ risk exposure.
The empirical analysis, conducted on 569 listed SMEs from Refinitiv Eikon (2018–2022) and supported by these robustness checks, confirms that variations in these elements have minimal impact on final benchmark ratings, which are based on the classification systems of major rating agencies.
This brief summarizes the study’s methodology, key findings, and policy recommendations offering deeper insights into the financial stability, resilience and long-term sustainability of SMEs.
