At its annual Christmas event for financial advisors, accountants and bankers, ART was keen to stress the role of Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs), like itself, in meeting the gap in finance provision left for small businesses by the banks. The key message was: we have more than enough money to meet demand.
The ART lending team – Steve Walker, Martin Edmonds and Andy King – told guests that ART was experiencing a similar phenomenon to the banks; a lower than anticipated demand for finance.
“While this could well be explained by a lack of confidence and appetite for credit in the current climate,” said Steve Walker, Chief Executive of ART, “we want to be sure that it is not due to a lack of awareness of the alternatives to bank finance. We urge all of those advising businesses to remember that ART – and other CDFIs around the UK – have money to lend to the smaller businesses, whether new or long-standing, that the banks are unable to support.”
December 16, 2011 12:04 pm