HSBC pursues the SME market with £400m slice for West Yorkshire

HSBC HAS launched a major drive to woo more small and medium-sized businesses with a £8bn national fund.

The banking giant said it had ear-marked a total of £400m to be lent to businesses in the Birmingham and West Yorkshire, while £150m has been allocated to Liverpool and Cheshire.

It is offering 18 months of fee-free business banking for start-ups and 12 months of no fees for established small companies which switch their banking from another lender.

HSBC also said it would be hosting more than 300 workshops nationwide, aiming to support 10,000 businesses in seeking to grow- from start-ups to established firms looking to grow.

In 2014, the bank won 75,721 new small business customers, which took the total to one million.

Andy Bennett, Area Director of Business Banking in West Yorkshire, said: “SMEs in West Yorkshire are ambitious and we are open for business and ready to help them invest to grow.

“Too often I hear customers say they weren’t aware just how closely HSBC works with SMEs and start-ups in West Yorkshire. We want to change that perception and reaffirm our commitment to businesses of all sizes.”

Ian Stuart, head of HSBC’s UK Commercial Bank, said: “We’re hugely proud of our unique international network, but it’s vital that businesses across the country, from start-ups and sole traders upwards, know that HSBC is there to support them.

“We currently approve more than 85 per cent of loans, and our net lending to business is up in 2015 – but we want to do even more.

“This fund is an aspiration, not a limit, on our ambitions, and removing fees from our business loans could save hundreds of pounds for the average firm.”