Banks withholding finance, says ISME

SMALL business group, ISME, has claimed that almost half of all applications for banking facilities by small and medium sized enterprises are being refused.

ISME has called on the Government to ensure the banks commit to lending to small businesses, at reasonable cost with less stringent conditions attached, and proposed a Government SME loan scheme.

On February 11, ISME surveyed small and medium enterprises which had applied for bank facilities since November 2008. It said the responses provided strong evidence that banks were withholding finance from SMEs. The survey found: