Factsheets
Funding for Lending: Opportunities for Businesses
Formally launched on 1 August 2012 the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending Scheme is designed to boost their lending by reducing bank funding costs. This allows banks to reduce the price of new loans and increase their net lending.
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Get Paid Guide
A guide for owners and managers of small businesses
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How to get a yes - Top tips for lending application success
To help you prepare your business for a credit application, the UK’s five largest high street banks have identified what you can do to ensure your application has the greatest chance for success.
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Appeals process
What is it?
If you are declined lending following a formal application for a business loan you have the right to appeal the decision. Britain’s largest banks have agreed a new set of principles, which set out exactly what you should expect when appealing. These principles will be monitored and scrutinized by an independent and external team of reviewers, ensuring that the banks’ have implemented a fair, prompt and transparent appeals process.
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The banking industry’s 17 commitments to businesses
In October 2010, the Business Finance Taskforce committed to 17 actions which aimed to improve banks’ relationships with business, ensure better access to finance and promote understanding of the needs of business customers.
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Loan Pricing
Lending to small business is one of the most important services banks undertake. It enables businesses to grow, take on more employees and generate greater wealth across the economy. But, it’s important that banks can earn a return on this activity in order to sustain that service throughout the business cycle.
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Asset Finance
What is it?
Asset finance is an alternative funding solution to support the acquisition of new or additional assets. Outright purchases can be a significant drain on working capital and not always the most efficient way to manage capital expenditure.
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European Investment Bank (EIB) Funding
What is it?
The EIB is strengthening its support for Europe’s small and medium‐sized enterprises by providing this sector with access to finance through new and lower cost lines of credit.
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Supplier Payments
What is it?
Supplier Payments can enable buying organisations to make early payments and ease the cost of supplier finance, thereby supporting their supply chains.
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Trade Finance
What is it?
Trade Finance covers a range of solutions to help mitigate financial risks such as nonpayment or delayed payment.
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Invoice Finance
What is it?
Invoice Finance is a source of short‐term funding and has the capacity to increase in line with the expansion of a business. Invoice financing can give businesses a timely cash injection by releasing money tied up in outstanding invoices, effectively providing an ongoing supply of capital that is linked to company sales.
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Business Angels
What is it?
Business Angels are high net worth individuals who invest on their own, or as part of a syndicate, in high growth businesses. In addition to money, Business Angels often make their own skills, experience and contacts available to the company.
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The Prince’s Charities
What is it?
The Prince’s Charities is a group of not‐for‐profit organisations of which The Prince of Wales is Patron or President; 18 of the 20 Charities were founded personally by The Prince.
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Lending application checklist
This checklist is a useful snapshot of the things banks may need to see from you when making a lending application. These are the standard requirements – individual banks may provide more detailed guides to help you prepare a lending application, so you should always check what additional information you may need. But this checklist provides a good starting point.
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Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG)
What is it?
A government led initiative to support small and medium sized businesses that have viable business plans, but lack the level of security normally required for a standard credit facility.
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Community Development Finance Association (CDFA)
What is it?
The CDFA represents the Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFI) who provide loans and support to people who find it difficult to access finance from the commercial banks.
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Export Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme (EXEFG)
What is it?
ExEFG is a new Government Guarantee scheme, which supports export transactions that are not covered by the existing EFG scheme. It is aimed specifically at small and medium sized exporters who are viable and require an export finance facility, but have insufficient security available to secure the borrowing facility (under the Lender’s normal credit criteria).
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Writing a business plan
Whether you are a new or established business, you should have a constantly evolving business plan in order to help you define your current objectives and your strategies for achieving them. Your business plan should describe where your business is now and your hopes and aims for where you want it to be in the future.
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Managing Cashflow
Cashflow is one of the key concerns for most businesses. Good cashflow management can be a major contributor to success and so accurate forecasting is essential. As well as covering day to day costs, your business will need reserves to meet unexpected expenses or temporary shortfalls in income.
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