Video Report: Access to Finance – Banks and businesses tackle the issues
BUSINESSES and banks believe that government intervention will not help firms gain better access to finance and a new model must emerge as the market becomes more stable.
A panel of business leaders, senior bankers and a leading lawyer took part in a round table discussion on the subject of Access to Finance hosted by TheBusinessDesk.com in association with law firm DLA Piper.
The panel included:
Edward Ziff of quoted property investment group Town Centre Securities; Charles Tweed of Strategic Team Group; Duncan Syers of Vector Plus; Shaun Ellenthorpe of Lloyds Banking Group; Lee Collinson of Barclays and Mark Chidley of DLA Piper.
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The panellists agreed that the current unpredictability in economy is unhelpful to business and said that the current issues in the banking sector and the lack of choice of venture capital finance in Yorkshire had made access to finance very difficult for firms across the region.
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There is still anger from company leaders about some banks charges, which Edward Ziff described as “obscene” in some cases. “When the bank can be predictable, that is the point at which we entrepreneurs are going to have the confidence to go and grow our businesses.
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Shaun Ellenthorpe of Lloyds said that basing Business Link advisers in bank branches and business centres might help small firms and banks while Lee Collinson said the “lack of coordination” of public sector quangoes needed improvement.
Mark Chidley, a partner at DLA Piper, said that there more positive signs showing in markets.
“Corporate activity has picked up quite extensively and as markets do – they have found solutions and a way around [the problem of access to finance].
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