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Lloyds pledges to support 300,000 new businesses

Part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group has said that it will offer support to 300,000 new start-up businesses over the next three years.

Lloyds - 43% owned by taxpayers - said its plans would help ‘viable’ businesses gain access to credit as the UK recovers from recession and give “clearer and fairer” prices under a small business charter.

Under the charter the bank said it would run a programme of 200 seminars to advise small firms, meet ‘reasonable’ requests for finance and help viable businesses through temporary difficulties.

The bank will not change the terms of overdrafts as long as firms keep within agreed limits and will only charge higher margins “where there has been a material increase in risk”.

The bank’s commercial managing director John Maltby said optimism among businesses was the “foundation” of any economic upturn.

“We hope to give businesses across the country the confidence they need to grow and lead the UK out of recession,” he added.

Business Minister Lord Davies said: “This move by Lloyds TSB will improve access to credit for thousands of small businesses, which are the life-blood of this country. The Government is listening to the needs of these businesses and through schemes such as the Financial Intermediary Service we are working to ensure solutions can be delivered.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .