A long-awaited scheme will now force banks who don't provide or turn down loan applications for small companies will now have to refer them to alternative finance providers. The scheme would force nine of the nation’s biggest banks to pass details of rejected business applications to three matchmaking online services.
From today, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays, Santander, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, the Bank of Ireland and First Trust Bank must refer potential businesses to Funding Xchange, Business Finance Compared and Funding Options.