Natwest to close Esme Loans

Esme Loans, NatWest’s standalone digital lending platform for SMEs and scale-up businesses, has announced that it will close.

Launched as a pilot by NatWest in early 2017, Esme Loans offered an alternative financing option for SME customers looking for faster, unsecured business loans for a wide range of business purposes, alongside its range of conventional lending options.

The company’s loans between £5,000 and £150,000 for small business customers. The terms were usually between one and five years and backed by personal guarantees.

In a statement on its website, Esme Loans said “Esme Loans is being closed and is not accepting any new loan applications. Businesses that currently have a loan with us are not affected by this decision and are still able to log into their Dashboard as usual.”

“The team will continue to service current clients and is always happy to speak to customers, brokers and partners to answer any questions.”

Commenting on the close Optimum Finance’s Chief Commercial Officer, Lynn-Marie Jameson, said “Banks have an important role to play in assisting UK companies get the level of funding they need. They have the benefit of very low funding costs, but also face strict regulatory requirements which often make servicing small businesses uneconomic.”