The MaB market as alternative financial source for Spanish corporations

Abstract. One of the main tasks of the financial system is to provide the money required by corporations to finance their expansion strategies. In Spain, almost all companies normally have banks as the only possible funding source, which makes expansion plans rather expensive from the financial perspective. Nevertheless, bigger companies also have the opportunity of getting finance from the primary markets, issuing stocks or bonds. For not so big companies with appealing expansion plans, the Alternative Equity Market (Mercado Alternativo Bursatil - MaB) is a way to get financed issuing stocks. This paper analyses the role played by MaB as a funding alternative of SMEs. First, the MaB is described. Then its evolution in terms of capitalization and stock volume issued is analyzed. Furthermore, companies making use of MaB are characterized. The main conclusion of the research is that, even though experiencing a positive evolution, MaB still plays a rather insignificant role as finance source of Spanish corporations.