Alliance And Leicester To Increase Business Loans
The credit crunch and ongoing economic slow down in the UK has not only caused huge financial problems for many individuals with homeowner loans and other debts, but also for a large number of businesses, both large and small, many of which have been forced to downsize, or even close their doors altogether due to customers and suppliers tightening their belts through the current recession.
A large number of otherwise strong and viable small businesses are currently going under on a weekly basis, in many cases simply due to a lack of short term cash flow, leading to additional redundancies and unemployment, thereby exacerbating the current economic gloom for many.
But now Alliance and Leicester, part of the Santander banking group, have announced that they intend to increase the total number of new loans they offer to small businesses by more than 25 per cent on their previous figures, which is no small challenge considering that the bank increased the number of business loans offered by a staggering 49 per cent throughout last year, above the previous twelve months.
Steve Pateman, head of Corporate and Commercial banking said “Alliance and Leicester has attracted 100,000 small businesses to its range of better value and straightforward banking services over the last three years. 2008 was another record year for the bank with the number of current accounts, lending facilities and deposit accounts increasing significantly.
In the current climate cashflow is the key to business survival and we are committed to increase lending balances further in 2009, to help customers to stabilise their business finances. With many commentators highlighting that business conditions are tough and customer feedback showing that small business owners are feeling the pinch, I would urge businesses to review their banking needs as a matter of priority to make sure they are getting value for money and a service that reflects their needs.”
