Banks Offer SMEs Bad Funding Surprises

Bad Surprise

Bad news is one thing, bad surprises are quite another – as many UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been discovering.

Accountants Brookson deliver a damning indictment of the banks’ tendency to pull overdrafts from SMEs, leaving them chronically short of funds at crucial moments.

“According to financial comparison site Funding Options, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have made 741 complaints to the Financial Ombudsman over the past 12 months relating to the way banks have handled their overdrafts and loans.

“The top reason for these complaints is that a bank is believed to have unfairly withdrawn an agreed overdraft without warning. Funding Options claim that banks are removing overdrafts from SMEs to the value of £3.7 million per day since 2011.

“However, it is possible that the true number of businesses affected by these practices is substantially higher, as only companies with fewer than ten employees and an annual turnover of less than £1.47 million can be covered by the Financial Ombudsman.”

M&CLogo

There are just five days to go on Money&Co.’s current loan offering. Over 83 per cent of Selwyn Building Services £250,000 B-rated loan offer is now filled. The current indicative gross yield is 10.5 per cent. It is reasonable to expect this to fall if the offer is filled ahead of deadline, as cheaper offers of credit will then knock out the more expensive bids.

Risk

NB: When lending, capital is at risk. See warnings on our Home, Lend and Frequently Asked Questions pages.

 



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