Research undertaken by NatWest showed that the most common stress point in the relationship between a business and its banker is when a borrowing application is declined. The fact is that bankers are not very good at explaining or justifying these decisions….

There are fresh calls for the FCA to re-examine how the banks have handled the review of mis-sold hedging products. Here are some points businesses considering complaining to the FCA should consider.

There is something here that is not quite working and opportunities are being missed all round it seems. I recently presented on a programme educating property investors about how to minimise the risks of buying properties at auction. Is there more need for programmes to help potential investors to understand how to invest in SME’s and minimise the risks?

Many businesses rely on having access to flexible cashflow support, typically bank overdrafts or invoice discounting facilities. Such credit lines are however put in place for a specific term and reviewed periodically by the lenders, at which point they could just withdraw them.