Loan brokers to beat government to SME referrals site
Business loan brokers are setting up a new site to let small businesses compare and apply for credit, beating the government’s new referral scheme.
Chancellor George Osborne fears small firms are not getting the credit they need to grow.
So in the budget he announced big banks will have to refer any rejected customers to other banks and alternative lenders, so the SMEs do not have to apply for credit again and again.
This would undermine the brokerage industry, which exists to match borrowers with lenders.
As a result, the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) wants to get in first, hoping it can address the problem directly.
Its site aims to launch next week and will offer 106 different lenders’ products, including a range of specialist providers in areas like asset finance.
The group hopes that the facility will make it easier for small firms to find suitable lenders rather than being limited to high street banks and more familiar household names.