Barclays rolls out contactless plastic for businesses
by Gill Montia
Story link: Barclays rolls out contactless plastic for businesses
Barclays says it has become the first bank in Europe to provide contactless debit cards for business customers.
The technology enables users to pay for low-value transactions by holding their card over a reader, without the need to enter a PIN or insert the card into a terminal.
The bank’s personal customers began using the cards [...]
Voice Commerce to launch Cashflows business bank
by Gill Montia
Story link: Voice Commerce to launch Cashflows business bank
Voice Commerce Group has ambitions to launch a business bank under the Cashflows brand.
The payment services provider says it has appointed law firm, Mills & Reeve, to help achieve regulatory and operational objectives, explaining that the move will meet the broader financial requirements of its growing business customer base.
Compliance lawyer, Liz Heade, has also been [...]
Directors challenge banks on business lending
by Gill Montia
Story link: Directors challenge banks on business lending
The Institute of Directors (IoD) claims that nearly 60% of businesses seeking bank finance in 2009/10 were rejected by their banks and that 20% are financing their enterprises to some extent with credit cards.
Research by the body is being submitted to the Government by way of a challenge to the assertions of some UK [...]
Record company failures forecast for 2010
by Gill Montia
Story link: Record company failures forecast for 2010
Grant Thornton has warned “there is no light at the end of the tunnel for troubled companies that are relying on a fast economic recovery to help them repair their balance sheets”.
The accountancy and recovery specialist is predicting record company administrations in England and Wales in 2010, following on from a 2009 total of 4,161, [...]
Critical finances dog 140,000 UK firms
by Gill Montia
Story link: Critical finances dog 140,000 UK firms
Begbies Traynor is warning that over 140,000 UK companies experienced “Significant and Critical” financial problems in the final quarter of 2009.
The level of distress showed a 6% rise on the previous three months but had declined 14% on the same period in 2008.
The recovery and restructuring specialist has also identified a new trend whereby business [...]
RBS ring fences £1bn in loans for UK manufacturers
by Gill Montia
Story link: RBS ring fences £1bn in loans for UK manufacturers
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) / NatWest has launched a new fund aimed at UK manufacturers.
The lenders are pledging £1 billion in “competitive fixed rate loans” for firms investing for growth, as the sector looks to recover.
The money has been ring-fenced and will be lent under flexible terms, such as the option to defer [...]
FSB calls for return to “normal” lending criteria
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSB calls for return to “normal” lending criteria
In a New Year message, the national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on banks “to return to their normal lending criteria, and to start playing their role as lenders with a large dose of modesty”.
According to John Wright, Britain’s five million small businesses will play a central role in the [...]
Barclays to provide £150m in SME loans
by Gill Montia
Story link: Barclays to provide £150m in SME loans
Barclays has announced that it will be providing a further £150 million in funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The bank was quick off the mark to support small businesses when the credit crisis hit, working with the Government to secure funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) support scheme.
The lender’s latest commitment is to [...]
Lenders advised to focus on commercial mortgage books
by Gill Montia
Story link: Lenders advised to focus on commercial mortgage books
A new report from CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) warns lenders that they should be focusing their attention on the quality of the UK commercial properties against which loans were secured during the last few years.
The study, entitled “UK Commercial Real Estate Debt – a Two-Tier Market”, claims over half of the outstanding debt is due [...]
RBS caps small business lending fees
by Gill Montia
Story link: RBS caps small business lending fees
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) says it is making life easier for the UK’s small businesses by capping arrangement fees for loans and overdrafts, at 1.5%.
The bank, which has been criticised for failing to provide the credit agreed in return for taxpayer support, says it will provide the preferential terms for at least 12 months, [...]
Barclays offers flood support to business customers
by Gill Montia
Story link: Barclays offers flood support to business customers
In response to the recent flooding in Cumbria and other areas of the UK, Barclays Local Business has announced that it is developing a financial support package for all business banking customers affected by the rising waters.
The move is aimed at allowing firms time to recover from the immediate impact of the flooding by, for [...]
SME’s report worsening credit conditions
by Gill Montia
Story link: SME’s report worsening credit conditions
Britain’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are finding it increasingly difficult to access credit.
According to a new report by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC): “Access to finance remains a serious problem for British businesses, despite the Bank of England pumping £200 billion into the economy to boost money supply and stimulate lending.”
In a November [...]
OFT launches corporate insolvency study
by Gill Montia
Story link: OFT launches corporate insolvency study
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has begun a study of the UK’s corporate insolvency process that will consider the high fees charged by some insolvency advisers, and the impact of this on creditors.
The watchdog also says it will be looking at the structure of the market and the appointment process for insolvency practitioners.
The Government [...]
Lloyds pledges support for 300,000 business start-ups
by Gill Montia
Story link: Lloyds pledges support for 300,000 business start-ups
Lloyds Banking Group has promised to help 300,000 of the UK’s small and medium-sized business start-ups by 2012.
Under a new charter, SMEs should see increased access to finance and more competitive pricing.
Following continued criticism of the amount lent to small firms by the state-supported Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland, the group has pledged to [...]
RBS called to account on business lending
by Gill Montia
Story link: RBS called to account on business lending
The Treasury has asked Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to provide evidence that UK businesses are choosing not to apply for its loans.
In return for taxpayer support, RBS is committed to lending an additional £25 billion, £16 billion of which is earmarked for firms.
However, the about-to-be 84% state-owned bank has admitted to falling behind [...]
BoE governor pessimistic on bank lending
by Gill Montia
Story link: BoE governor pessimistic on bank lending
The Governor of the Bank of England has described the UK’s banks as “not in good shape”.
The remark was made by Mervyn King while speaking to Newcastle-based newspaper, The Journal, during a two day visit to England’s North East.
Mr King also warned that it will be a “long time” before banks’ balance sheets are fully [...]
New horizons for small business fundraising
by Gill Montia
Story link: New horizons for small business fundraising
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has let it be known that he hopes to give businesses more access to capital markets.
Speaking to The Observer yesterday, Alistair Darling said he was considering new measures that would reduce the reliance of small businesses in particular on the “big four” High Street banks.
The changes under consideration could enable [...]
Bank lending to businesses continues to fall
by Gill Montia
Story link: Bank lending to businesses continues to fall
In its latest Trends in Lending report the Bank of England has revealed that total net lending to businesses fell across all the main industrial sectors during the second quarter of 2009.
For smaller firms, without access to the capital markets, the availability of finance remained “more subdued”.
However, corporates turned to the markets to raise funds, [...]
Lending to “non financial” business slumps £14.7bn
by Gill Montia
Story link: Lending to “non financial” business slumps £14.7bn
Despite Government threats, the UK’s banks continue to reduce their lending to businesses outside the financial sector.
According to Bank of England figures, lending to “non-financial corporations” plummeted by a record £14.7 billion between April and June, compared with the previous three months.
During the second quarter of 2009 the slump hit wholesale and retail firms by [...]
Drop in commercial lending alarms turnaround specialists
by Gill Montia
Story link: Drop in commercial lending alarms turnaround specialists
TMA (UK) is urging UK banks to be more “even-handed” in their business lending.
The trade body, which represents UK turnaround and recovery specialists, has made its plea follows the publication of Bank of England figures showing rises in both individual and mortgage lending, but a sharp drop in the amount of credit made available to [...]
