##a is the pride that its staff members take in providing objective analysis. that devotion first and foremost to objectivity has led to the interesting phenomenon that, while the overall economic views of administrations have swung widely, the policy advice given by their successive ceas has undergone far smaller swings. even though the average tenure among members of the council and staff economists is short - - often just a year or two - - there have been some sources of continuity. perhaps the most remarkable element of continuity has been the service of catherine furlong, better known to her friends and colleagues as " kitty. " she recently retired after fifty - four years of service, with her tenure extending back to the earliest years of the agency during the truman administration. among other important roles, kitty was the fact - checker - in - chief at the cea - - an important position when the stock of the agency depends critically on its credibility. for presidents on down, having your material fact - checked by kitty meant that you were going to meet the gold standard of credibility. the type of continuity she provided is rare in the government and contributed to the cea's success over the years. among its contributions, the cea serves as an in - house research organization that can assemble, analyze, and present information relevant to an economic decision. many of the members and staff come from research backgrounds and are uniquely positioned to play this role in the administration. because the cea has retained its small size over the years, it can be quick and nimble in ways that are difficult for some larger agencies. moreover, because the cea is viewed as a neutral agency without ties to any particular constituency, the cea often has played an important role on interagency committees and working groups, ensuring that economic insights are heard at debates about key issues. along those lines, perhaps the most important role of the cea has been to scuttle many of the more adventuresome ideas that inevitably bubble up through the machinery of government. in every administration, all sorts of ideas for changes in spending, tax, and regulatory policy are developed by one agency or another and then circulated within the administration. a few of these ideas are genuinely good. however, many of them are ill - advised and not well thought through and fail miserably the test of benefits exceeding costs. often, it falls to the cea to point out the flaws and derail these ideas. this role of the cea is wholly unheralded - - after

eu - 28 trade credit leasing or hirepurchase 4 % 3 % 2 % 2 % 0 % debt securities region equity capital eu - 28 factoring region source : survey on the access to finance of enterprises ( safe ), ec and ecb. second, for those companies that external finance seems to be important caveat, the main causes are related to the inadequate collateral, high costs and complex procedures. both notions bring to the fore the need to discuss the state of play and the potential for financing with alternative instruments through capital markets. chart 12 : the most important limiting factors for external financing ( average 2015 - 2017, % of the total number of surveyed companies ) region insufficient collateral or guarantee baltics interest rates or price too high reduced control over the enterprise cee financing not available at all see too much paperwork is involved there are no obstacles eu28 0. 0 % 20. 0 % 40. 0 % 60. 0 % 80. 0 % 100. 0 % source : survey on the access to finance of enterprises ( safe ), ec and ecb. 4. capital markets in cesee – potential source for finance although greatly used, the traditional sources of finance, such as government financing for infrastructure, or financing through domestic banks of smes might be either limited in size, or constrained by some structural impediments. hence, these sources might not be sufficient to close financing gaps. in this context, capital markets can have significant role for bridging the existing gaps. benefits of developed capital markets are well known. they could complement banks as a source of financing and could : 1 ) unlock more investment for all companies, especially smes and for infrastructure projects, 2 ) attract more investment to the region through external financing, and 3 ) make the financial system more stable and resilient by opening up a wide range of funding sources 8. thus, capital markets have potential to foster growth. despite the continuous progress, capital markets in the cesee region still lag behind the more advanced eu countries. in most of the countries in the region, the financial system is bankbased. capital markets in cesee countries have expanded significantly, since they were originally created9. despite the growth from the low base, and given the impact of the global crisis on the market growth momentum, the capital market depth ( listed shares and bonds ) in the region is hovering around 50 % of gdp, far below the eu average for 2008 - 2016 of around 200 % of gdp. similar is the