Published earlier this autumn, the report of the Business Finance Taskforce deserves close study by corporates. The taskforce – made up of the chief executives of the six largest UK banks and the British Bankers Association – was mainly focused on improving relationships and lending to smaller businesses, but the underlying ideas and philosophy cross all sizes and sectors.
The report says that new lending demand may pick up soon – with the pick-up starting with larger business – and predicts that that lending growth will return to its pre-recession trend rate of 4%-5% a year. Note that the bank chiefs say they are confident that banks can meet this recovery in demand, even if it grows more quickly than this level, although they acknowledge that the refinancing need of 2012 remains a challenge.
The truth is that while government may wish more finance were available and banks may do their best to provide as much credit as possible, there are no easy quick fixes. This supplement gives some ideas of how treasurers can stay focused on cash management and facilitate the liquidity that their companies need, staying vigilant for new opportunities and ideas to keep the cash flowing.
Go to http://bit.ly/9rM36u to download the Business Finance Taskforce report.
