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Non-Bank Lending to Small Businesses at Highest Level Since 2008

From the Financial Times 22/10/13: Non-bank lending to small businesses has hit a five-year high, as more enterprises turn to alternative sources of credit such as peer-to-peer lenders and invoice financing.

With traditional bank lending in its fifth year of decline, the UK’s commercial finance brokers say they have arranged £10.5bn of credit for small and medium-sized enterprises in the past year. This marks the highest figure since 2008 and an annual rise of 17 per cent.

Meanwhile, asset-based lenders, who advance money against equipment or invoices, also reported their biggest annual total since 2008, rising 10 per cent to £17.4bn in the year to June.

The data, from industry associations, highlight the shift away from traditional bank lending to small business, which has shrunk by a quarter since 2011. SME funding through leasing and asset finance has more than doubled in the same period, according to the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers .

Its members also arranged £501m worth of loans through innovative channels such as peer-to-peer lenders, which match individuals to companies that want to borrow, a rise of 80 per cent.

For the rest of the story, please visit http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4d3a0830-3738-11e3-9603-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=intl&siteedition=uk#axzz2iR7IND4l

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