The aim of this study is to analyse the effects of two Spanish public programmes that provide financial support to small and medium enterprises: a) subsidised credit by the Official Credit Institute and b) bank credit guaranteed by a mutual guarantee society. The study was conducted from a regional perspective and compares the effects of the two programmes during normal times with the effects during economic crisis. The results show that during stable (non-crisis) periods, these programmes affect the growth of assets, sales, and sales to assets ratio. However, during recession, the effects extend to include the growth of employment and sales-employee ratio. Moreover, there are significant regional differences in the impacts of the financial aid programmes.