Yet the dark clouds of past misconduct still hang heavy over the SME finance market, undoubtedly weighing down on SMEs\u2019 trust in the financial institutions that serve them. Restoring that trust will enable the UK\u2019s SME sector to act as an even greater growth engine for our economy.<\/p>\n
The events that contributed to the erosion of trust in lenders have been rigorously scrutinized by the Treasury Committee, both in this and previous Parliaments. This inquiry is, in part, a continuation of that scrutiny, and follows the Committee\u2019s specific investigations into events at RBS\u2019s Global Restructuring Group (GRG). Throughout this inquiry, and in line with its other work, the Committee has been clear that it would not be appropriate, or indeed possible, for it to investigate individual cases of misconduct.<\/p>\n
The Committee understands that a large number of business owners have suffered at the hands of financial services firms, but it does not possess the mandate or the resources to analyze every case individually. Although it is important to understand past events\u2014some of which amount to misconduct by individuals and institutions\u2014the Committee\u2019s scope for constructive action lies in ensuring the right lessons are learned for the future, and this report contains a number of recommendations that seek to address the deficiencies in the SME finance market that have been laid bare in recent years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form a hugely important part of the UK economy, accounting for 99.9 percent of all private sector businesses and 60 percent of all private-sector employment. The effective provision of finance to the UK\u2019s SMEs is therefore crucial for boosting the country\u2019s economic performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":48202,"template":"","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[1842,2347],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-76219","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-sme-finance","product_cat-study-library","pmpro-has-access","first","instock","shipping-taxable","product-type-external"],"yoast_head":"\n