Forum calls for better local bank services for SMEs
The Forum of Private Business is joining the Campaign for Community Banking Services (CCBS) and calling on banks to restore local services - including powers to make commercial lending decisions - in order to help small firms access affordable finance.
The call comes after the CCBS revealed that most of the UK’s leading high street banks are systematically closing branches across the country. Since 2000, according to the CCBS, 2213 branches have closed – almost one in five (18%) of all local banks. From 1990 that figure is 7388, or 43% of all branches. It states that in 2010 alone 109 Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and NatWest banks were closed. So far, in the first quarter of 2011, nine further HSBC, ten Lloyds and eight Barclay’s branches have closed and there are indications that many more closures are to come.
The implications for business-bank relationships and decision-making based on real knowledge of local businesses are clear. In its submission to the ‘Government Assistance to Industry’ consultation the Forum is calling for greater discretion on lending decisions for local bank managers along with other measures to improve the flow of credit to small firms.