14-September-2009

Donald Stewart provided insight in the article, "Safe and Sound - The Importance of Spreading Your Banking Risk," published on the Financial Director and Active Home websites.

Stewart told Financial Director that he believes the mid-market now includes many businesses that are looking beyond traditional sources of bank finance.

"People who are trying to raise finance for everyday corporate activity are having to go further afield and be more creative or daring in their choice of banks than they were before," he said, "because the few banks that are lending are foreign—Svenksa, for example. Anecdotally, the banks that are seen as a safe bet are Scandinavian and to a lesser extent, Spanish, because the traditional high street banks simply are not lending."