Business Matters: Research shows SMEs want more from their banks
Peter Sleigh, NatWest's regional director business and commercial banking, north, discusses the evolving funding relationship between banks and SMEs.
The importance of small and medium sized enterprises to the UK’s economy cannot be underestimated. Figures released last October by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills show there are more than 4.8m SMEs in Britain, employing almost 23m people.
NatWest has led research to gain a real insight into what is really important to them. We have spent 4000 hours talking to 8000 small and medium enterprises. Results confirm that although all SMEs have ambitions, priorities differ greatly.
Interestingly ambitions aren’t always about growth, it could simply be about business survival, diversification, funding personal livelihoods or that some just want to protect what they have built and secure a future for their family.
The results also highlight a real feeling of disengagement and lack of trust and support from banks in general. Many interviewed felt banks were out of touch with only 40 per cent believing they have a role to play in supporting their business ambitions. The remaining 60 per cent felt that banks had no role.
This is powerful and honest feedback that we are keen to react to and is one of the reasons we undertook the research to understand how we can become the established bank of choice for UK SMEs.
We understand that it is not enough for banks to offer day-to-day service. The key is to keep things simple – be fair and transparent and deliver on the basics as well as more complex lending issues. This approach allows customers to get on with running their business and spend less time on banking. Customers expect this – it’s the foundation to a good relationship and supports SMEs deliver their business ambitions.
The UK economy has had a pretty torrid two years and although it is still facing uncertain times there is much to be positive about. We believe companies who take action and invest in growth and new opportunities can reap the benefits. We urge SMEs to look at ways to realise their business ambitions.
Everything that we do will be designed to help our customers get ahead. This means understanding their business, the individuals involved and not just the numbers. We need to create and deliver relevant and practical solutions for our customers in the North East that are based on insight and commercial acumen.
Contact details
Peter Sleigh
Regional director, commercial banking, north
Tel: 0177 226 0807
Email: peter.sleigh@rbs.co.uk
