It's not only the big companies that are feeling the squeeze. Many of my smaller clients are suffering the result of a turn-round in the attitude of their banks. Now money is very tight, and everything has to be absolutely secure. Directors' guarantees, mortgage security . . . While I can appreciate the Banks' desire to safeguard their interests, they should not base their transactions purely on the presence of bricks and mortar security.
Business is a risky enterprise at the best of times.
My father once said to me that if you can prove to a bank that you don't need any money they are quite happy to lend to you, but they don't seem to be there when you need them. It seemed funny at the time, but more and more business owners are finding that this is grim reality. I think the problems between banks and business all stem from a lack of understanding of customer needs. Most bank managers have developed through a system that is bureaucratic to the point of almost being public service in nature, and have not experienced the process of owning or managing a business themselves. Take a recent experience of my own as an example.