Banks are still not lending to small businesses, with a refusal rate of 52% in the last three months.
In it's quarterly bank watch survey, ISME, the body which represents small and medium enterprises, has found that some firms are reporting waiting times of up to 5 weeks for initial decisions from banks on loan applications.
The survey also found that 5% of their members were happy with government intervention in SME lending.
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ISME chief Mark Fielding says waiting times of 5 weeks amount to constructive refusals for firms that can't afford to wait:
