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BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES TASKFORCE DELIVERS SME ACTION PLAN TO BOOST UK ECONOMIC GROWTH
The SME Finance Taskforce , a group of leading banks , alternative lenders , FinTechs , accountancy software providers , payment schemes , credit reference agencies and industry bodies , has developed an action plan to energise the UK economy . The plan will speed up lending and access to finance for 5.5 million SMEs , which employ 60 % of the private sector workforce and deliver over 50 % of UK economic turnover .
The seven-point action plan is contained in the taskforce ’ s first report , Smart Data : improving SME lending to drive economic growth .
The taskforce , formed in April , chaired by the Centre for Finance , Innovation & Technology ( CFIT ) and supported by an Open Banking Limited ( OBL ) secretariat , has found that increasing access to highquality data will enable SMEs to expand and receive funding that will enable them to grow and scale .
Lending to UK SMEs has fallen by 20 % in real terms over the past decade . The resulting funding gap , which is estimated to be more than £ 22 billion , prevents SMEs from investing in their firms , improving productivity and making a greater contribution to the economy .
To unlock the opportunity of increasing SMEs ’ contribution to employment , GDP and tax revenues , the taskforce has proposed seven key actions . They are :
1 . Prioritise the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill 2 . Fund and support an SME ‘ Smart Data Challenge ’ 3 . Review and improve HM Treasury ’ s Bank Referral and Commercial Credit Data Sharing ( CCDS ) Schemes
4 . Accelerate reform of Companies House , in particular standardisation and verification of company information
5 . Unlock private sector data by providing digital receipts from HMRC and improved access to tax data for approved organisations
6 . Develop and consult on proposals for an e-invoicing scheme for the UK to align with overseas markets
7 . Enable greater trust and understanding in using new alternative specialist lenders
Those involved in the CFIT-led taskforce include iwoca , Sage , OakNorth , Allica Bank , Experian , HSBC , Lloyds Banking Group , Mastercard , the Federation of Small Businesses ( FSB ) and Revolut , ensuring that the action plan has cross-industry support . Together , they are pledged to work in partnership with the government to grow the UK economy and contribute to policy and legislative development .
CFIT Chair , Charlotte Crosswell OBE , said : “ The financial services and FinTech industry has worked together to design a comprehensive programme that will energise the UK economy by making the lending experience better for both SMEs and the lenders themselves .
“ What ’ s particularly exciting is that this doesn ’ t require significant public spending . While policy implementation inevitably takes time , there are so many levers that industry can pull with the support of policymakers , to quickly build momentum , boost SME lending and unlock growth .”
The taskforce ’ s recommendations build on the blueprint report published earlier this year by CFIT ’ s inaugural coalition on Open Finance . That industrywide coalition had demonstrated that Open Finance could deliver more lending to SMEs , with a pilot analysis showing that over a quarter of SMEs who risked missing out on credit could get access to finance with enhanced data-sharing . �
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