Is the Lending Taskforce Doing Enough?

BIRMINGHAM, WEST MIDLANDS--(Marketwire - Nov. 8, 2011) -

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The Interface Financial Group (IFG), North America's largest alternative funding source for small businesses, announced that the company offers support to small businesses that are struggling with raising capital to fund growth prior to economic recovery. IFG provides short-term financial resources including debtor factoring, invoice discounting, construction factoring and invoice factoring to companies in the UK, Ireland, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

The Forum of Private Business (FPB) has assessed the British Bankers' Association's Business Finance Taskforce one year since it was formed. But the forum has commented that much more needs to be done to get cost-effective finance to the businesses that need it most, and that the taskforce had not yet achieved its aim of repairing the relationship between banks and small businesses.

Research identified that 24 per cent of small business owners on the forum's cashflow and finance panel want more choice between "traditional" banking services, while 21 per cent want better access to alternative forms of funding.

Paul Barnsley, chief operating officer for The Interface Financial Group (IFG) said: "I think that this research identifies the lack of awareness and understanding there is in the SME community of alternative funding solutions like factoring and invoice discounting, the positive news is that a large percentage of businesses want more choice and access to other forms of funding. This is exactly where invoice finance and the funders of invoice discounting and factoring can play their part in making their solutions readily available to the SME owners.

The research also reported that 26 per cent of respondents said they were seeking out alternative financial products, with 21 per cent of these interested in sourcing them from outside the main high street lenders and 7 per cent from mainstream banks.

Paul added, "I urge businesses to contact either ourselves or a specialist adviser or broker to look at their options. I think that after some investigation they might be quite surprised at the availability and flexibility of invoice factoring or debt factoring and that a well-structured invoice finance solution will allow the business to grow faster than they thought possible".

The Taskforce produced 18 recommendations, some of which have been extremely useful - particularly in the areas of mentoring, lending appeals, finance readiness and funding for high-growth enterprises.

There is a falling demand from small firms but that does not mean a lack of need for affordable funding. It reflects just how alienated entrepreneurs are by the restrictive risk criteria and steep costs being imposed by mainstream lenders. As a result, there are increasing signs business owners are looking elsewhere.

About The Interface Financial Group (www.ifgnetwork.co.uk)

The Interface Financial Group (IFG) provides short-term financial resources including invoice factoring (invoice discounting). IFG launched the UK operation in 2010 following the success of its New Zealand, and Australia businesses which launched in 2004, and 2006. IFG's innovative products also includes spot factoring - the purchase of a single invoice or number of invoices. IFG does not require the whole debtor book.

The IFG Network is the funding arm of The Interface Financial Group providing capital and transactional support to IFG's international office network. IFG has grown to over (150) international offices in the UK, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. Each IFG office is managed on a local level, providing immediate service to clients with local knowledge and experience. This makes IFG unique to all other Factoring Companies in the UK. The IFG team has substantial business experience and expertise in numerous diverse areas, including accounting, finance, law, marketing, banking, etc.

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