When will small businesses receive help from the banks?
Over the last few months we have seen billions upon billions of pounds of taxpayer's money poured into the UK banking arena in an attempt to restock the sector after a significant slump in liquidity. As a consequence, UK taxpayers have a majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland and a near majority stake in Lloyds bank together with full ownership of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley. However, there is concern that many small businesses in the UK are being neglected in favour of larger operations and the small business sector could underperform for some time to come.
Many small businesses around the UK have complained that their banks have called in overdrafts and short-term loans and are unwilling to refinance many operations across the country. Unfortunately, at this moment in time there is very little that small business owners can do because until the banks realise this area is a vital element of the UK economy, they appear set to be overlooked for the moment at least. So why has the UK government not helped?
Even though we have seen some tinkering with fringe benefits for small businesses, such as late payment of taxes, to all intents and purposes the UK government has been focusing upon the larger companies of the UK. However, this needs to change at some point!
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