Banks support for small businesses1
22/10/2008

The British Bankers' Association's latest statistics show that in the 12 months to the end of June 2008:

• Term lending grew by 11 per cent to £44 billion
• Borrowing on overdrafts stood at £9.2 billion - three per cent higher than the year to June 2007
• Total deposits stood at £54.5 billion - six per cent higher than the previous 12 months
• A seven per cent growth in the number SME current and deposit accounts over 12 months
• Over 1/2 million new small businesses created over 12 months
• 200,000 small businesses in deprived areas of the country are supported by £2 billion of bank lending

 New (unpublished) research from Mintel shows that:

• The average SME overdraft in 2007 was £12,054 compared with £15,212 in 2000
• 18 per cent of SMEs use a personal current account for their business needs
• 74 per cent of SMEs do not believe that their bank is too expensive
• In 2007 there were approximately 4.7 million SMEs, compared with only 3.7 million in 1997

 According to the BBA/Moneyfacts Business Account finder, there are: 

• 49 business accounts available to sole traders
• Over 50 accounts available to partnerships; and
• Over 50 accounts available to limited companies

 BBA is working on behalf of members to help SMEs in the following ways: 

• working with BERR to provide generic advice to SMEs on dealing with late payments
• holding a roundtable in November of all key stakeholders to discuss emerging issues
• revising the BBA Statement of Principles for small businesses
• working on a BERR taskforce on access to finance for ethnic minority businesses
• providing the Business Account Finder to help customers shop around
• providing advice and information to SMEs on the BBA website.