Britain’s banks have been urged to form true transparent business partnerships with recruitment agencies by Liz Longman, UK director of independent recruiters’ network The Employment Agencies Movement (TEAM).

This week a taskforce, made up of representatives of banks plus members from the Treasury, the department of business, innovation and skills (BIS) and the Bank of England, has been set up by the British Bankers’ Association to outline current barriers to securing finance and to make recommendations to boost funding for UK business.

Longman told Recruiter that the feeling among TEAM members is that recruiters do not feel banks understand their business.

“Loan facilities that businesses enjoyed before the recession have been withdrawn. Banks need to understand the recruitment industry and how the business works.

“Banks do not make it easy for recruiters to obtain additional funding or to make changes. One of our members wanted to change to internet banking and had been with their bank for several years and were not in the red. They were required to produce a year’s accounts before they were able to proceed. That is a barrier as it takes so much time that people will not bother and won’t do it.

“It comes back to having a good relationship with the bank, of having an account manager that understands recruitment, that can make flexible decisions. The relationship needs to be transparent on both sides.”