YP Comment: Bank's £6bn boost for SMEs
The struggle of small businesses to get hold of much-needed finance has been well documented, which is why news that CYBG plc, owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, is making £6bn available to help fuel the growth of small and medium-sized businesses is most timely.
However, with new research showing that 35 per cent of SMEs still find it difficult accessing bank loans, this money cannot come quickly enough. Since the financial crisis, the appetite for lending among banks has been subdued and with financial uncertainty surrounding Brexit and many SMEs warning that revenues could stagnate this year, it is paramount that new and fast-growing businesses are able to expand. After all investment equates to jobs.
The real litmus test will be whether the rural economy, which is driven by SMEs, benefits from this new finance commitment. If it does it will go a long way to showing that rural businesses really do matter.