Metro Bank adds another string to its bow and reinforces its commitment to helping SMEs grow.
Metro Bank has been accepted under the government backed Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG), just 16 months after it first opened its doors. The loan guarantee scheme is intended to facilitate additional bank lending to SMEs and will come into effect for Metro Bank from 1 January 2012.
The EFG helps viable SMEs which lack the security to secure a normal commercial loan obtain the capital that they need, during a time of tightened credit conditions. It aims to help SMEs seeking finance for investment and growth as the economy recovers. By providing Metro Bank with a Government-backed guarantee for 75% of the loan value, the EFG facilitates lending to SMEs that would otherwise not take place.
Craig Donaldson, CEO of Metro Bank commented: “Being accepted under the EFG scheme means we can help more SMEs with their funding requirements than we could before. This is fantastic news as we are committed to helping SMEs grow in what is a very tough economic climate and this will help us do that. We speak to SMEs every day and understand the problems they are currently facing. The EFG helps us reinforce our commitment to them.”
The EFG supports lending to viable businesses with an annual turnover of up to £25 million seeking loans of between £1,000 and £1 million. It will continue until 2014-15 and has so far provided up to £600 million of additional lending to around 6,000 SMEs in 2011-12.