Bank of England’s boost for SME finance
3 December 2014
The Bank of England and the Treasury have extended a scheme that supports lending for small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs).
Wed, 3 Dec 2014The Bank of England and the Treasury have extended a scheme that supports lending for small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs).
The Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS), which allows banks to borrow at a competitive rate from the Bank of England if they lend to certain groups, will be extended for one year. This will certainly be of interest to recruiters, a large proportion of which are SMEs.
A press statement from the Treasury claimed that FLS, which switched its focus from household to business lending last year, has contributed to a “substantial” fall in bank funding costs since its launch in 2012.
According to an article in the Financial Times chancellor George Osborne will use his Autumn Statement to announce £900m of extra funding for small business lending schemes. Osborne is expected to add to existing schemes run by the state-backed British Business Bank, which was set up in 2013 to improve access to finance for SMEs struggling to get credit with commercial banks.
The Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS), which allows banks to borrow at a competitive rate from the Bank of England if they lend to certain groups, will be extended for one year. This will certainly be of interest to recruiters, a large proportion of which are SMEs.
A press statement from the Treasury claimed that FLS, which switched its focus from household to business lending last year, has contributed to a “substantial” fall in bank funding costs since its launch in 2012.
According to an article in the Financial Times chancellor George Osborne will use his Autumn Statement to announce £900m of extra funding for small business lending schemes. Osborne is expected to add to existing schemes run by the state-backed British Business Bank, which was set up in 2013 to improve access to finance for SMEs struggling to get credit with commercial banks.
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