BANKS ‘TURN DOWN £151.5M OF SCOTS SME LOAN REQUESTS’
Banks rejected up to £151.5 million of credit applications from SMEs in Scotland, according to analysis by alternative SME lender FLEXIMIZE.
It claims that between April and June this year, the approval rates for smaller businesses in the UK applying for loans and overdrafts was 80% and 78% respectively, and the corresponding figures for medium-sized businesses was 90% and 93%.
It estimates that in total, up to £167 million from alternative lenders has been taken out by businesses in Scotland.
MAX CHMYSHUK, founder and managing partner at Fleximize, says, “Demand for credit from SMEs is increasing but banks are still rejecting a significant number of applications. Alternative lenders such as ourselves are benefiting from this - in the first half of this year the amount we lent to clients was 211% higher than in the same period in 2014.”
Fleximize is a UK-based direct funding company and web platform launched in January 2014.
