Host thanks MA in HSBC loan victory
A licensee has thanked the Morning Advertiser after HSBC agreed to loan her £20,000 following the bank's initial refusal.
In a victory for the MA's Buck Up Banks campaign, Jo Anderson secured funding, despite saying HSBC told her it would not lend to pubs.
The MA reported in May that Anderson, Enterprise lessee of the Rose & Crown in Welling, Kent, asked HSBC to release her £20,000 security bond, but it declined. It has now agreed to lend £20,000, to be paid with £7,000 interest over five years.
She said: "HSBC only gave me the loan because of the MA's coverage."
HSBC denies it has a policy of not lending to pubs.
The MA is campaigning for banks to drop apparent blanket policies of not lending to the pub and leisure sector.
It comes as the Federation of Small Businesses has said Government must do more to break high street banks' monopoly on finance for small firms.
It proposes alternative sources of finance such as regional development agencies, post offices and — following a loan scheme launched in Essex — local authorities.
The FSB also wants to ensure struggling banks aren't sold off to other high street lenders "as this can stifle competition in the financial sector".
FSB chairman John Wright said: "Despite Government bail-outs and interest rates set at a record low, small firms are still finding it tough to access affordable loans and overdrafts from banks."
• Does your bank say it won't lend to pubs, or have you had success accessing finance? Email wbua.uneevatgba@jvyyvnz-errq.pb.hx.
