Banks are being called upon by one politician to make sure they offer reasonably-priced credit to small businesses.
More needs doing to ensure that small firms are able to access competitively-priced
business accounts and other commercial finance products.
Commenting after the publication of a
business banking study by the Institute of Directors (IoD), Vince Cable, treasury spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, states "large numbers of small and medium-sized businesses are still having difficulty in getting credit on reasonable terms".
He claims that instead of giving out large bonuses to their workers, semi-nationalised and nationalised banks "must make good on their commitments to increase lending at reasonable rates".
Speaking after the IoD revealed that 57 per cent of those directors who requested finance last year were turned down, Mr Cable states "sound and solvent" companies will play a crucial part in the nation's economic recovery.
The study also revealed that 28 per cent of directors are turning to bank
loans to fund their business, with 36 per cent using overdrafts.
By Kate Guthrie