The World Bank Group and the FIRST Initiative announced on December 14 the launch of a new tool to help governments implement public credit guarantee schemes (CGS). These schemes are a common form of government intervention to unlock finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The World Bank Group estimates that up to 68 percent of formal SMEs in emerging markets are either unserved or underserved by financial institutions, with a resulting credit gap estimated to be close to $1 trillion.