Banks launch £3bn SME support funds

Companies looking to invest in time tracking software or time billing software could benefit from £3 billion in extra funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) announced today.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest will provide the money through a network of 12 regional funds in England, Wales and Scotland. Ulster Bank will administer the extra financing in Northern Ireland.

The additional funding is part of the banks' commitment to increase lending to UK businesses by an extra £6 billion.

Each fund will receive around £250 million to finance a range of business support packages, including flexible loans, invoice finance products and short-term trade finance.

The banks added that managers in the locally-administered fund network will also help firms to find effective ways of releasing cash from their existing assets.

RBS chief executive Alan Dickinson said: "The funds have been designed to give business customers the further confidence to focus on running their business rather than having to worry about their finances."

Business secretary Lord Mandelson described the funds as "good news" for SMEs.

Following the recent banking bailout, taxpayers hold a 68 per cent stake in RBS and NatWest.

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