Project Merlin - target for lending to smaller firms missed - February 13, 2012
Figures released by the British Bankers' Association have shown that the five main UK banks missed their Project Merlin target for lending to smaller firms, but exceeded the overall lending target.
The banks met their overall commitments last year, with gross new loans of £214.9bn, but £74.9bn was lent to smaller firms - less than the £76bn target.
Stephen Gildert, EMEA head of SME lending at Experian, commented: “Demand for finance from creditworthy small businesses is subdued. There was a great deal of hunkering down and managing for cash throughout the downturn, and many of those now looking to invest are turning to cash reserves in order to fund growth ambitions. Flexible forms of finance are very much the flavour of the day for those that do want credit.”
Highlights from recent Experian research into SME finance:
· Three quarters of the SMEs polled stated that they had access to additional cash that they could use within their businesses.
· Almost half claimed they had access to cash reserves that they could use to fund their growth activities, while 19% had money set aside to cover emergencies.
· Just under a quarter of firms polled intend taking on new credit during 2012.
· Of the firms polled, 33% were undecided as to whether they would take on new finance.
· Of those that intended to borrow, the greatest demand will be for flexible forms of finance such as business overdrafts (26%) and company credit cards (23%).
· Only 8% of firms that had previously applied for commercial credit claimed to have been unable to obtain it.
Article Business Money News
No comments:
Post a Comment