Corporate Finance Associates Blog

It appears, finally, that someone has woken up to the fact that the lenders bailed out by the UK Taxpayer are not delivering on their promises to support the SME sector with business borrowing.

I was tickled by a comment on the BBC news this morning (09/02/10) from a spokesman from Lloyds Bank claiming that they are not lending to businesses as much as they agreed because no one is applying to them.  This is wildly off the mark as our experience has proved to us with banks making it fairly difficult to submit any proposition with a better than even chance of getting past their underwriters.

I am old enough to remember when the local bank manager had authority to grant facilities and as they lived on the doorstep they had their finger on the pulse of how their branch interacted and supported their local business customers.  They understood businesses and worked with them to move forward.

Times changed as the business lending function was centralised and faceless individuals made all the decisions and the idea of the old “Bank Manager in the Cupboard” (Midland Bank ads back in the 70/80s) went out the window.  It was at least starting to revert to the local Business Development Manager (BDM) having a much more hands on approach to local lending, when the common complaint at the time was that these people just got to the point where they understood your business and they were moved on to greater things and you have to tell your story all over again to someone new.

Then came the Credit Crunch (as we have all decided to call it now) and gradually the banks slimmed down their BDM teams and took any small link between small business and the bank decision makers away as EVERY transaction now has a tortuous task through the underwriting process.

We have always aimed to answer these faceless underwriter’s questions before they even get to ask them and that does mean having to garner much more background information from the client than was ever needed in the past, and these decisions being made about supporting small business are being left to individuals who firstly have never ever run a business in their life (I have always thought it would be a good idea for bankers to be seconded to industry for a portion of their development to see how the other half functions) and rarely if ever would lose their roles by saying no to an application.  After all they are only “protecting the Bank’s shareholders”.  The skill is in saying yes, and this skill is not being exercised as often as it could be.

The claim is that they are indeed still lending but at what price?  Definitely higher margins of at least 200bp above previous norms, double the fees, 40 – 50% shorter terms, much lower LTV’s and it is only the very good companies that can live with these.

My argument is that providing serviceability can be assured with a reasonable amount of headroom and the applicant is clean and paid for, the lenders should be looking to do everything in their power to help and deliver on the commitments made to the Government when they were bailed out in the first place.  They are in the risk business after all, and the rewards are very good now.

It just reminds me of Mark Twain’s apt definition “A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain”, well it has been raining but the sun is coming out again so let’s start sharing those umbrellas as promised.

The following is an extract from several articles posted by BT Business and Growing Business websites

New figures from Business Link have revealed that 45% of small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) sampled have few if any systems in place to chase unpaid and overdue invoices

The poll of London SMEs also found that nearly a third are weak when it comes to management of their cashflow, while almost half have no idea of where their gross profit margin or breakeven point is.

These results have been released to coincide with the launch of Business Link’s new 10 point financial health checklist, which it hopes will help business owners keep their finances more in control. A copy of Business Links checklist can be downloaded here.

“Sound financial management should be the bread and butter of every business, especially during these tough economic times,” according to Matthew Perkins, a senior Business Link advisor, reporting to the British Chambers of Commerce

Smaller businesses (those with less than 10 staff) fared worse in the poll. Only 50% had a structured process in place to chase unpaid invoices compared to 72% of larger SMEs.

Perkins added: “As we head into the recovery period, understanding where your money is, following up your unpaid debts and knowing what your profit is, are vital to keep your business in the black and head for growth.”

We see many companies where this has become an issue and can introduce our Associates who have the skills to help point your business in the right direction, why not visit our website and we can see whether we can help.