Roads to success - SME exports, report, report of session 2012-13 (Paperback)

The report Roads To Success: SME Exports (HL 131) examines the crucial role of Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK which have a crucial role to play if the UK is to achieve export-led recovery. There are nearly five million SMEs in the UK, but only a very small number of these are helped by UK Export Finance (UKEF), with only 21 receiving help from the agency up to August 2012. UKEF services need to be better promoted both to SMEs and banks who act as the gatekeeper to the scheme. The Committee say that unless banks are prepared to take on some of the risks of lending to exporters, then UKEF's programs are 'dead in the water'. The transition from loan decisions being made by local bank managers to a centralized process driven by formulae has weakened SME access to bank finance. Local bank managers are much better placed to make informed decisions about loan applications from small local businesses. SMEs must also do more to explor