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Posted on 02 May, 2011

The gulf between SME’s and the banks

You know it can sometimes seem as if business owners and the banks speak two totally different languages, and it’s a gulf you don’t see anywhere else between customer and supplier.

We see it often when arranging funding for our customers. The two come from totally different angles but instead of converging they seem to drive each other apart.

It’s all too easy to blame the banks and to be fair they have a lot to answer for, but when we see the poor quality of funding submissions from otherwise highly professional people and organisations we can see the problems on both sides.

Anyway, I was intrigued to read the recent report from the Business Finance Taskforce which is made up of the CEOs and senior representatives from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, Santander, Standard Chartered and the British Bankers’ Association, who have been tasked to develop a plan of action to help UK businesses thrive and grow.

It will be interesting to see if it bridges the gulf. Somehow I think the process will still need an interpreter.