What has Banking Review Services been telling you for years!!!!!!!! The biggest impediment to economic recovery in Northern Ireland is “the banking situation”, according to Finance Minister Simon Hamilton. He said at a recent Westminster inquiry there was “anecdotal evidence” that firms were having “severe difficulty” getting finance that would allow them to invest and…
The Access to Finance Implementation Panel (AFIP) has been launched by finance minister Simon Hamilton and enterprise minister Arlene Foster. Its chairman will be Russel Griggs, a lead reviewer of the banks’ appeals processes. Hamilton said: “This panel will put a new focus on banking and access to finance issues here, particularly business lending. “For…
Pauric McGowan, professor of entrepreneurship & business development at Ulster Business School, discusses the future agenda for the relationship between banks and SMEs. A major study by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Ulster Business School (UBS) delved into the views of SME owner–managers on the key elements that make up their relationship with their…
Ronnie Patton, senior lecturer at the University of Ulster, explains why businesses may be better off looking for a CHEEP adviser than a cheap adviser in the following article from Ireland Business News. Recently I noted that many SME owner-managers have a limited relationship with their accountant or business advisor. This led to some enquiries…
Business confidence remains critical to driving the economy forward and companies in Northern Ireland have a part to play in shouting about their successes. That was the message from Kevin Kingston, deputy chief executive of Danske Bank, speaking at Insider’s Business of Finance Conference in Belfast. The theme of the conference was ‘Sources of finance…
An initiative has been launched to assist small and medium-sized businesses access funding in Northern Ireland. The Finance Voucher initiative has been launched by Invest NI and will provide support for businesses to access professional help to prepare funding proposals. Businesses will be able to use the voucher to cover up to 49 per cent…
