United Trust Bank joins Funding for Lending Scheme

Martin Nixon, UTB’s head of asset finance, said: “We know from the findings of our recent broker survey, that pricing is still one of the most important issues brokers face in the asset finance market today.

“With the number of funders now dealing directly with customers continuing to grow and margins being tightly squeezed, brokers are experiencing more competition than ever in certain sectors. Joining the Bank of England’s FLS means we are able to offer our brokers some very competitive rates to assist SME’s in raising funding for their business growth plans.”

The Bank of England and HM Treasury launched the FLS in July 2012 and it is designed to incentivise banks and building societies to boost their lending to the UK real economy with a focus on providing SMEs with funds for growth.

UTB says it is now offering rates from as low as 4.99% on advances of £35,000 and over, subject to its lending criteria. The specialist bank reported a record breaking first quarter and says business levels continue to grow, and are currently “significantly higher” than this time last year.