SMEs offered £6.6bn of new lending to date

• RBS and NatWest pro-actively contact over 23,000 UK SME customers to offer £6.6 billion new lending
• Banks pledge to take steps to boost lending and growth

RBS and NatWest are committed to helping customers in the UK grow their business and are proactively contacting customers outlining how much additional borrowing the bank is willing to lend their business. To date over 23,000 businesses have been contacted offered a total in excess of £6.6 billion in a bid to drive growth in the UK.

Ian Cowie, Chief Executive of business and commercial banking for NatWest and RBS, said:  “Our message is clear, we are very much open for business and we want to support business growth in communities across the UK. That is why we are proactively speaking to customers to let them know how much we could lend if they want to invest.

We have received positive feedback from our customers about this initiative and it is encouraging to see the money lent enabling local businesses to fulfil their ambitions such as, buying their premises, expanding their production and recruiting more staff. Our aim is to provide new opportunities for SMEs, which will benefit the economy here in UK.”

Initially the bank made available £4bn to proactively offer to customers across the UK and has now increased the pot to £10bn allowing relationship managers to contact thousands more SMEs in the coming months.

RBS and NatWest launched an Independent Lending Review to identify steps it could take to support more SMEs. As part of the response to the review RBS and NatWest is approaching thousands more customers with lending opportunities, making quicker credit decisions and setting up a new dedicated website.