Companies basically fund their activities, growth or restructuring plans through a well-balanced mix of equity and debt capital. The most common financing instruments for debt capital are bank loans.
Hybrids, which combine characteristics of both equity and debt, are becoming more and more popular.
A company may also issue bonds, but it must be sufficiently well known to attract potential buyers and ought preferably to have an external rating, which is true of only very few European companies.
Securitisation is an alternative funding technique that is increasingly used.