Birmingham-bound HSBC pledges £1bn to help the region’s SMEs
COMPANIES in the West Midlands have been pledged additional growth funding by HSBC as the bank announces a £1bn lending fund to support SMEs in the region.
The new fund is the largest package of support to be announced by HSBC for SMEs in the West Midlands, and includes a £500m package in Birmingham – which is set to become the new home of the bank’s retail arm.
The announcement comes almost 12 months to the day that HSBC confirmed it would set up its new HQ at 2 Arena Central. The bank is expected to begin occupation of the new site from early 2018.
Today’s pledge is also an attempt to counter the growing presence in the SME lending market of challenger banks, all of which have targeted the region’s fast-growing firms as potential clients.
HSBC said it was introducing the funding to meet growing demand from West Midlands SMEs. It said the package was a significant increase on the £850m it allocated to the region in 2015.
Martin Hanson, HSBC’s Regional Director for Business Banking in the West Midlands, said: “We want to be the bank of choice for West Midlands SMEs, reinforced through our desire to lend more to local businesses, by committing the funds to do so, and by making banking easier and cheaper to help our customers grow.
“There is a strong desire from ambitious local SMEs to grow their businesses, and we are responding by ensuring HSBC is providing the funds they need to realise these ambitions.”
Small Business Minister, Anna Soubry has encouraged small businesses to capitalise on the services being offered by lenders to support their growth.
“We have a record number of small businesses driving our growing economy and while the picture is improving, access to finance remains an issue for many of them,” she said.
“It’s absolutely right that banks such as HSBC continue to develop their support for smaller businesses. I also want to see more of these businesses taking advantage of what’s on offer, both from banks and alternative lenders, to help them grow, invest and create jobs for people.”
