Peter Ibbetson, the chairman of small businesses with RBS and Natwest, also stressed that the bank must have the correct attitude to risk to ensure sound decisions were made.

Speaking at the International Enterprise Promotion Convention, held at the Harrogate International Centre, Mr Ibbetson sought to reassure small businesses that the bank was there to support them during the slump.

Mr Ibbetson told the Yorkshire Post: "With 1.25m business customers, the clear responsibility of the NatWest and RBS Group is to ensure that, as far as possible, as we exit the downturn these businesses continue to operate.

"The driver for this is not just one of social responsibility, but a recognition that the SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) franchise is core to the group's wellbeing."

He said RBS wanted to try and think like an SME rather than a bank

He explained: "So, for instance, very quickly after it became clear that we were entering a recession, we confirmed publicly to our one million SMEs turning over less that £1m a year that once we had agreed their overdraft and pricing, we would not change these arrangements.

"This let them focus on their business rather than worrying about their bank.

"Similarly,we made available 500 of our more experienced bankers to provide one-on-one support to businesses who were struggling, and further allocated £3bn of new funds split into 12 regional funds to drive home the availability of support at a local level.

"So understanding what was keeping business owners awake at night was our first priority.

"Our second focus is to ensure that we make the right risk decisions ...both in the interests of the business owner and of the bank."

The International Enterprise Promotion Convention, which runs until tomorrow, aims to encourage innovation during the recession.