UK Finance has published its latest SME Update on SME loan approval (for Q3 2018) which show that rates remain consistently high. The figures show that there were 69,980 new loans and overdrafts approved for a value of £7.0bn with banks approving eight out of ten applications for SME Finance. The figures also showed that cash…
Financial services companies appear to have increased their appetite for risk compared to businesses in other sectors, a report has found. The Q3 2018 Global Supply Chain Risk Report, published by Cranfield School of Management and Dun & Bradstreet, investigates the level of perceived supply chain risk faced by European companies with international supplier relationships.…
Small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) with a turnover between £6.5 million and £10 million and a balance sheet up to £7.5 million will soon be able to have their banking and finance disputes reviewed and redressed through alternative dispute resolution arrangements, following the creation of a specialist ombudsman service with the expertise and powers…
New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) in September was at a similar level to the same month in 2017. In Q3 2018, new business grew by 6% compared with the same quarter in the previous year. New finance for IT…
The Treasury Committee has published a Report on SME Finance with a recommendation to appoint a Financial Services Tribunal to help SMEs resolve disputes with lenders. The report says the Financial Services Tribunal is needed to handle complex SME disputes and expanding the Ombudsman’s remit to handle SME cases should not be rushed through. The…
UK Finance has published its Business finance update for September 2018 which reveals that Lending to manufacturers grew by 4.9 percent over the last twelve months. While there is annual growth in borrowing demand from manufacturers, agriculture and accommodation, those sectors are in marked contrast to a wider 2.0 percent contraction in UK business borrowing overall. Deposits…
The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has warned that the growth of new lending to already indebted firms, through leveraged-loans, has parallels to the subprime mortgage boom which ended with the global financial crisis in 2008. Minutes from the FPC’s latest meeting also reveal warnings over the rise in loans with weaker covenants…
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed plans to extend access to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The changes will mean that SMEs with an annual turnover below £6.5m and fewer than 50 employees, or an annual balance sheet below £5m will now be able to refer unresolved…
A third of the 1.1 million UK SMEs with EU suppliers would be unable to operate without imports from the bloc, according to the latest SME Confidence Tracker from independent financial services provider, Bibby Financial Services (BFS). The research news comes as a potential ‘no-deal’ Brexit threatens to disrupt trade between the UK and EU, and…
Rivers Finance Group, holding company of Rivers Leasing has been named in the Financial Times (FT) Future 100 UK, which lists the fast-growing companies making an impact on their industry or wider society.. The ranking comes months after Rivers Leasing was featured for the second consecutive year in the FT 1000: Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies. Launched…