BANKING NEWS
DOING IT TOUGH
International
News
UK SME’S GET THE
FINANCE THEY SEEK
The UK’s SME Finance Monitor
surveys 5 000 businesses every
quarter, and has concluded that
for UK SMEs there is a lack of
demand for finance rather than
a lack of supply.
Its findings show that the
majority of businesses seeking
loans or overdrafts had their
applications approved.
The surveys also identified
more than three million
businesses (roughly threequarters of all UK SMEs) as
currently ‘happy non-seekers’
of finance, i.e. not wanting to
apply, and that only half of the
4.5 million SME’s have ever
required bank finance.
Only 14% of SMEs had
sought new or renewed finance
in the previous twelve months,
and only around 2% were
turned down for an overdraft,
and even less (1%) for a loan.
SMEs surveyed said that
in both the short term (next
three months) and the longer
term, the main barrier to
running their business was
the current economic climate
– and they felt that their own
trading conditions suggested
it was just not the right time to
borrow. Two-thirds expressed
no intention of applying for
finance in the short term.
‘UK banks are working hard
to dispel the myth that banks
automatically turn down credit
applications,’ says the British
Banking Association’s David
Dobbs. ‘But the approval
rates and the independently
monitored appeals process
should give SMEs confidence
that, when seeking finance,
they will get a fair hearing from
their banks.’
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SA BANKER
Edition 1
Australian banks have offered emergency relief packages to assist people affected by
the floods in four Australian territories. Individual banks have announced assistance
packages to help families, business people, farmers and individuals in the communities
adversely affected by the flood waters.
‘The emergency packages provide practical help by giving immediate financial relief
to those most in need of assistance, and improving prospects for maintaining
viable businesses,’ says Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) Chief Executive
Steven Münchenberg.
‘Banks are also encouraging customers who are having difficulties servicing their
loans to make contact. Your home or business may not be flooded out but sometimes
customers’ employment or businesses can be disrupted because of the effects of
the floods.’ Says Mr Münchenberg: ‘To help ease financial worries, customers should
talk to their banks about applying for assistance, which could include deferring
home loan repayments for a specified time period, accessing savings early in term
deposits without penalties, or getting a temporary credit limit increase.’
‘I would like to encourage people who are doing it tough to contact their bank as
soon as they can to discuss how their bank can help.’
The Australian economy is still
suffering damage after last
year’s catastrophic flooding.