Support for small businesses

British Bankers’ Association (BBA) figures for the main high street banks providing small business services show that term lending grew by 10 per cent over the year to £41.7 billion.

Overdraft borrowing stood at £8.7 billion, a fall of one per cent over the year, reflecting lower dependency on temporary, cash flow finance.

Total deposits were £54.1 billion at the year-end, an increase of eight per cent over the year.

During 2007, new banking relationships were opened for 557,000 small businesses.

46 per cent of small businesses bank online.

BBA statistics director, David Dooks, said: “As borrowing growth moderated during 2007, the pattern of net credit balances for the small business sector has been restored. The main high street lenders continue to finance investment, while business liquidity has risen, suggesting that small businesses in general are in a good position to withstand pressures in the economy. The number of businesses supported continues to rise, though the rate of start-ups has slowed.”