Banks ready and willing to lend money to local businesses

A major financial summit in Croydon has seen banks and key agencies promise to keep lending local businesses the money they need  in order to survive the recession.

Croydon Council chief executive Jon Rouse and Croydon Business' senior programme manager Lisa McCance called the Banks Summit last month as part of Croydon's Economic Recovery Plan in order to share information on the recession and to find ways of supporting Croydon businesses.

Jon Rouse said: "The banks are ready, willing and able to help their clients access the funds they need during this difficult time. We are committed to working together to support local businesses and restore growth."

The group, which included RBS, Lloyds TSB, NatWest, Barclays and HSBC, agreed to ensure all local businesses were aware of and able to access the various loans and support funds available. These include the government?s Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme and the European Investment Bank Loan Scheme as well as Croydon Enterprise?s own Finance for Enterprise initiative which is a £1m fund able to provide small enterprises with loans of between £2,000 and £50,000.

Following the meeting, which took place on May 11, Croydon Business carried out a presentation to almost 30 local banking business account managers representing more than 4,000 businesses to ensure they would pass onto their clients details of the various financial support schemes available.

The Banks Summit formed part of Croydon's  Economic Recovery Plan which aims to help local people and businesses survive the recession. The plan was drawn up earlier this year by Croydon Council and Croydon Business in partnership with a range of key agencies, including South London Business, Croydon College, JobCentre Plus, Croydon Enterprise, Envibe, Safer Croydon, Croydon  Business Venture, Business Link for London, and Croydon Voluntary Action.  The plan is currently being led by the new Croydon Economic Development Company.  Full details of the plan can be found at www.croydoncrunch.org.