Barclays Business has changed its
lending policy and will no longer provide asset finance to
companies with turnover less than £5m (€6m) a year.
A Barclays spokeswoman said that
the need for asset finance among larger companies was not shared by
its smaller customers.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
She added: “We will continue to
offer asset finance to Barclays Corporate customers where we are
satisfied the asset provides suitable security. With SMEs of less
than £5m turnover, we have seen a change and are reflecting this
with changes to our overall proposition for new finance
requests.”
The bank said it continued to
support small and medium-sized companies with more suitable lending
solutions, including working capital through overdrafts, the
government-supported Enterprise Finance Guarantee, and loans and
commercial mortgages.
Opting for plain vanilla loans for
smaller companies may be seen by some as missing the point of asset
finance.
A market commentator said: “It may
be more cost effective to offer another type of finance, or perhaps
all finance for SMEs will go through the branch network, meaning
the relevant staff members need only to be trained about simpler
products.”
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataSee also: Asset
finance competes with plain loans
