Finance guarantee is working, Mandelson says
Mar 24 2009
Lord Peter Mandelson has claimed that the government's Enterprise Finance Guarantee has increased its loans by ten-fold.
The business secretary says that more than 1,300 eligible loans with a combined value of nearly £145 million are being processed by the scheme.
Speaking at the recent Small Business Finance Forum meeting, Lord Mandelson reveals that the early stages of the initiative £3 million in eligible loans were processed a week, although this figure has grown to reach around £30 million.
He comments: 'These figures are good news, showing the Enterprise Finance Guarantee is providing real help to businesses. The scheme has taken off since its launch in January with registered lenders now seeing a ten-fold increase in loan demand.'
The minister adds that there needs to be an increase in awareness among banks' frontline staff of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, so they can offer it to more small business customers.
He also points out that the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has launched a mystery shopper drive to ensure that the scheme's 26 lenders understand and promote the guarantee correctly.
The Federation of Small Businesses recently called for more decision-making powers to be given to banks at a local level, so firms can build a stronger relationship with their branch managers.
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