The Commission has expressed a general policy in favour of promoting risk capital(1) in the Community. It has, for example, expressed concern about the risks of Community enterprises being overdependent on debt finance(2), and emphasised the potential for growth and job creation which an increase in risk capital markets would have(3). The Commission believes that certain types of enterprises, or enterprises at certain stages of their existence, may be better served by equity or near-equity finance than by loan finance alone, given the costs of servicing debt and the risk-averse nature of many lending institutions.
