In late June, the SSEP brought representatives from the major banks in Swindon together to discuss how they could work together.
Members of the SSEP Board meet with senior banking officials who have responsibility for lending to businesses in Swindon, to investigate the current commercial lending environment.
The banks took the opportunity to stress that the public perception of them not lending to businesses is wrong. They very much welcomed the opportunity to rectify this by emphasising that, in principle, there are no constraints to the availability of funding to viable businesses. It was also stressed that potential lenders must supply relevant information, evidence and documentation in any funding application.
SSEP Board member, Alan Fletcher, who chaired the meeting, said “this is probably the first occasion in 10 years that banks in Swindon have got together. The SSEP appreciated their willingness and openness to discuss the current lending situation in Swindon.”
Discussions also covered future collaboration between the banks and the SSEP, now that a forum had been created. It was agreed that SSEP would ensure that its large network of over 400 businesses and public sector organisations were aware of the opportunities presented by the banks by using relevant Swindon case studies.