Banks still taking too long to lend to SMEs claim UK200Group
Members of the UK200Group of accountancy and lawyer firms, which reflect the views of their 150,000 SME clients, have today voted at their annual conference on why the main clearing banks are not lending much to small businesses.
Some 47% think this is because the clearing banks are offering money but taking too long or wanting too much and 29% answered that the banks are simply not prepared to lend money. 10% voted that small businesses are not looking to borrow and a further 10% think that small businesses are borrowing their money from elsewhere. Indeed, nearly half (49 %) said that small businesses are borrowing from asset finance, whilst 22% said that friends and family were a successful source of lending, although 14% voted for non-mainstream and challenger banks. However, 44% of UK200Group members commented that they are seeing hardly any businesses bothering when it comes to credit checks and debt cover.
Nick Willis, president of UK200Group, said: “It’s incredible that nearly half of our members say that banks are still taking too long to lend to SMEs, whilst around a third say that banks are not prepared to lend. As a result, SME owners are borrowing from family members to grow their business. Banks should take heed and re-evaluate their strategy in order to assist SMEs which are the backbone of the UK economy.”