As an independent finance company we are certainly busier than we have been for the last 12 month. The level of enquiries and business written during September and November has been back to pre recession levels. Wether this remains at this level remains to be seen but  there are certainly some encouraging signs. Hopefully we have finally turned the corner however we envisage it will be many months and possibly years  before the financial institutions and banks start freeing up their lending criteria.

This time 12 months ago we were seeing many businesses putting plans on hold and unwilling to commit to any capital expenditure projects. And who can blame them not knowing the severity and duration of the forthcoming recession. Now 12 months on and I think the general consensus of opinion is that whilst things are not great they probably are not going to get any worse. Therefore if a business can make their plans and plant and machinery investments  work in the current climate there is an attitude of lets crack on with it because when business really picks up we will be well placed to reap the rewards.

Although we are hopefully out of the recession banks and finance companies will remain to be tight for months and even years to come. Combined with the lack of liquidity in the finance markets it will be still remain difficult to arrange hire purchase and leasing facilities for the foreseeable future. There are few leasing companies actively lending and many of the banks are looking after their own customers and only the good ones at that. Fortunately there are still a few funders still lending money and a good independent finance broker will be able to source the most appropriate funding.  It is most important that all the correct financial information is presented to the appropriate finance company to ensure the best chance of success.  This is where XL Business Finance has many years of experience and expertise and we will endeavor to make sure your finance needs are fullfilled.

The recent publicised report stating that intrest rates will stay at 0.5% until 2011 and will remain below 2.0% until 2014 suggests that recovery from this recession will be longer than expected. In terms of the banks attitude to risk and lending I think we can see a protracted inflexible and cautious stance on lending for many years to come.

It is easy to blame the banks for the mess we are in but personally I think we as individuals are all as much to blame as is the government. The banks are indeed  to blame for their lax lending policies of recent years. As a finance broker we saw many business finance deals agreed by the banks at very low interest rates  and at amounts which in our opinion were too high for the businesses concerned. The banks had lost sight that lending money is a risk reward business. As individuals we are to blame for our materialistic and must have now and pay later attitude. Is it correct that the average house hold has over £20k of credit card debt? No wonder there ae so many personal bankruptcies at the moment. And the government must be partially to blame for not regulating the whole thing in the first place.e

The bottom line is the banks have had their fingers burnt. They ain’t suddenly going to start landing like the good old days. Thankfully there are many independent finance companies willing and able to add value and help where the banks cannot.