Over the past decade, the risk appetite of the big banks has fallen, making them less inclined to provide finance to SMEs up and down the country. Consequently, small businesses have found it more challenging to secure funding through traditional methods. Figures recently published by the BBA, for example, showed that high street banks such as RBS, HSBC and Barclays lent £312m less to UK businesses in September 2016 than in the previous month, the biggest slump in conventional business lending since June. Starved of such funds, UK businesses’ ability to grow, hire new staff, diversify and increase their contribution to the economy is significantly impacted. Read more: cityam.com
