The five banks in partnership with the government-initiated Project Merlin programme have come forward to say that they are currently ‘on track’ for their business loan targets this year.
£100.4 billion in gross new venture capital was provided to business bank accounts in the first six months of 2011, according to a recently released joint statement. Included in that figure is £37.4 billion in loans delivered to small and medium sized enterprise.
The five banks, which include such High Street names as Barclays, Santander, and HSBC, remarked that they remained committed to providing a grand total of £190 billion in gross new lending by the end of this year. This includes £76 billion specifically earmarked for SMEs.
A Merlin bank spokesman commented that the five financial service providers are on track to meet their commitments to the UK business community. Performance over the first six months of the year is demonstrative of their determination to providing firms with the needed financial support for investment and growth, the spokesman also said.
‘The five banking providers took steps to encourage business banking customers into approaching them with loan applications remain in conflict with the overall economic landscape of the country, according to the spokesperson. As a result the five Project Merlin banks have experienced weak demands for credit from businesses.
Accounting firm Intuit UK’s managing director, Pernille Bruun-Jensen, commented that SMEs are key for the economic health of the UK. The new Project Merlin figures come at a critical time, said Ms Bruun-Jensen, with UK banks meeting overall business lending targets set by the government being an encouraging bit of good news.
Even more important, however, will be Project Merlin banks prioritising lending to small businesses in the coming six months of 2011, sai the managing director.