Lending to SMEs in Wales has decreased by £416m since 2014, according to new research from Wyelands Bank.
The bank, which is owned by green steel entrepreneur Sanjeev Gupta and recently opened its first branch in Wales in Cardiff to provide finance to SMEs, has analysed data from UK Finance, the banking and finance industry organisation.
It shows that despite a proliferation of non-bank lenders and alternative financiers, lending to SMEs in Wales has decreased by 9.2% — from £4.5bn in total in Q1 of 2014 to £4.1bn in Q1 of this year.
Kelvin Thomas, regional director, Wyelands Bank, said: “Despite the increase in alternative financiers and non-bank lenders, data from UK Finance highlights the difficulties that SMEs in Wales face in raising finance.
“Without greater access to finance, Welsh firms will not be able to trade, grow and create jobs. Wyelands Bank was set up to address these issues and help these firms to unlock growth, filling a vital gap in the market.”
Over the past five years Wyelands said that lending to SMEs in Cardiff has decreased from £1.2bn to £940m , accounting for more than half of the overall drop in Wales.
In Swansea, lending to SMEs has dropped by £200m – from £1.5bn to £1.3bn.
