The team at Aldermore came across Mint Digital after an article from the company's co-founder Andy Bell on TechCityNews. At Aldermore, we're always keen to speak to SMEs about their experiences of applying for bank funding and, below you can hear our interview with David Briggs, CFO of the company, about the issues the business faced when approaching banks for additional capital.

The report, which surveyed over 2,000 participants, discovered that 80 per cent of respondents thought banks were not doing enough to re-stimulate the economy. 48 per cent went so far as to say the financial industry was holding back recovery in the United Kingdom. When asked what must be achieved to rectify this situation, increasing lending to small businesses and increased support for homebuyers were two of the most cited responses, mentioned by 56 per cent and 55 per cent of those questioned respectively. These findings come as little of a surprise to Aldermore, reflecting what many SMEs have expressed to the Bank in the past.

As explained within the report:

"For a real transformation in public attitudes, homebuyers and businesses - especially small businesses - must feel that they are getting a fair deal when they lodge their savings and a fair hearing when they seek a loan."

The YouGov study also investigated public perception on government measures to improve lending conditions. Despite initial signs that the funding for lending scheme is benefiting businesses, only six per cent of participants were convinced loan approval rates for SMEs have returned to pre-recessionary levels. Just 12 per cent agreed the FLS has had a positive impact on mortgage approval rates.

These results suggest that further action must be taken, by both the government and financial institutions, to create a fairer lending environment.

Aldermore will continue to strive for this goal, which has long been a cornerstone of the Bank's operations, building on the successes of the past year to champion businesses across the country. We're shaking up British banking.

The conference, which discussed the future of the banking sector in the United Kingdom, highlighted a number of issues facing SMEs in the country. Indeed, delegates at the event took to Twitter to argue that the British banking system was failing to deliver credit to small businesses.

Speaking at the event, Professor of International Banking, Richard Werner stated that only 22 per cent of UK bank credit in the last decade was invested in the real economy.  Meanwhile, Professor Stephany Griffith-Jones of Columbia University argued that the United Kingdom needed a 'financial system that is smaller, simpler and less opaque.'

Speakers at the event also drew attention to the value of regional banks currently operational in Europe; a similar scheme was proposed for the UK by Ed Miliband earlier this year.

Speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce Conference in March, Ed Miliband said:

"We need a regional banking system; Not banks that are likely to say no but banks that know your region and your business; banks you can come to trust."

The index, produced in conjunction with the Centre for Economics and Business Research, is designed to reveal the financial situation of small British businesses. Commenting on the release of the index, Aldermore's Deputy CEO Mark Stephens comments;

"The Aldermore SME Inflation Index is an exciting new quarterly economic survey, focusing specifically on SMEs. These companies are the lifeblood of the UK economy and therefore a vital component for a sustained economic recovery."

Soft assets include IT & Communications equipment, security equipment, telecoms & video conferencing equipment, furniture & fittings, office equipment, software and any other assets with a low intrinsic open market resale value.

George Ashworth, Managing Director of Aldermore Asset Finance, said: "This development is part of our strategy to become the leading independent provider of asset finance facilities in the markets that we choose to serve, whilst at all times remaining as easy to do business with as possible.

"We hope it will enable asset finance brokers to offer their clients a comprehensive financial solution, which not only includes hard assets such as plant and equipment, but also those assets which, to date, have been more difficult to fund." 

For guidance the following minimum credit criteria are applicable to incorporated companies, partnerships and sole traders: 

 - Assets can be financed on lease finance or hire purchase
 - Assets have a minimum economic life of 3 years
 - There is unique identification on the asset ie: serial number
 - In case of need, there is relative ease for the asset to be repossessed
 - There is a secondary market for the asset
 - Includes business critical equipment
 - Soft costs (installation, in life services etc.) are limited to 20% maximum and software should be limited to 40% maximum of assets funded.

Aldermore has approximately 15,000 SME customers and has lent more than £2.5 billion (a combination of commercial mortgages, residential mortgages, asset finance and invoice finance) since first opening its doors for business in the summer of 2009.

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For further information about Aldermore, our financial backers and our PR contacts, please review our Notes to Editors page.

The award ceremony was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London and saw 133 finalists competing across 22 award categories. Aldermore's Hayley Rackstraw was shortlisted for the 'Rising Star' award and its collections team were also shortlisted for the 'Commercial Credit Team of the Year'.

Collecting the award on behalf of Aldermore, George Ashworth, Managing Director of Aldermore Asset Finance, said: "Winning this prestigious award is a tremendous accolade for the entire Asset Finance team at Aldermore, who have demonstrated real passion and commitment to ensure the Bank provides a high quality and reliable service.

"2013 has already seen the launch of a number of new initiatives including the APP, our online application processing portal, and we have further exciting plans for the remainder of this year."

Aldermore has lent more than £2.5 billion (a combination of commercial mortgages, residential mortgages, asset finance and invoice finance) since first opening its doors for business in the summer of 2009 and has approximately 15,000 SME customers.

For further information about Aldermore, our financial backers and our PR contacts, please review our Notes to Editors page.

Speaking at the conference, Cameron underlined the need for infrastructure investment across the UK, highlighting the need for British manufacturing to drive recovery.

Responses to the speech on Twitter, outlined below, implied the business community do not fully share the Prime Minister's confidence, with many seeing access to finance as a major issue for UK SMEs. However, when questioned, David Cameron stated that the flagship Funding for Lending scheme had proven to be effective in boosting SME lending.

2012 marked a significant year in the fight to address the lack of funding for SMEs, with the launch of the Funding for Lending Scheme in July bringing hope for many small businesses. Indeed, as the sixth largest net lender in the scheme, the FLS has allowed Aldermore to expand SME lending by 75% in 2012.

Despite this significant progress though, many debate whether the scheme has had a large impact on boosting lending to small businesses. Bank of England figures show overall business lending fell by £4.8 billion in the three months to February 2013, leading to calls for the government to reassess policy in the new parliamentary year.

In response to this criticism, Business Secretary Vince Cable announced a one year extension of the FLS in late April, introducing additional measures to encourage lending to small businesses in particular. Aldermore welcomed this change and, as a result, anticipates growing its lending book even further.

Elsewhere, many firms may see the government's much anticipated Business Bank as a more viable solution to the funding problem. Set to begin allocating credit this Autumn, small business owners have been advised to submit applications by 22^nd May to obtain their share of the Bank's initial £300 million funding pot.

This state-run banking venture intends to raise the level of competition within the banking sector, free from the under-capitalisation issues that many of the high-street banks have been left with in the wake of the financial crisis.

Having made it our mission to shake up the stagnant British banking sector, Aldermore are glad to see the government taking crucial steps to better serve the financial needs of SMEs and will continue to work alongside the government to support this community.

"We're very happy with our progress," affirms Monks, reacting to the news that Aldermore has increased lending by over 75 per cent and savings deposits by 60 per cent over the past year. "We anticipate growing our balance sheet at the same rate during 2013," he adds.

Monks sees the Bank's success as a result of Aldermore's unwavering focus on putting the customer's needs at the heart of the product development process. "We're able to attract customers because they see a different type of bank, a different type of environment. We never set out to be all things to all men but what we did set out to do was to offer our customers exceptional service. Via our Ratings and Reviews service our customers are telling us we are doing exactly that".  

Being a real expert and champion of its SME customers, Aldermore is highly aware of the challenges that small businesses face when it comes to accessing much needed funds to grow their business and has worked alongside government to reverse this lending trend.

"During the year we've embraced a number of government schemes," says Monks, adding, "In fact we've been actively working with the government and the regulator to design some of them."

The Funding for Lending Scheme has perhaps proven the most significant for Aldermore, as Monks explains.

"We were the first challenger bank into the Funding for Lending Scheme and figures released by the Bank of England  indicated that we were in the top six lenders with our net lending growing  to £251million in Q4. We are very supportive of schemes designed to help UK householders and SMEs.  Monks confirms Aldermore's continued involvement with this pioneering program and other schemes to support SMEs and homeowners into 2013 and beyond, promising Aldermore will not forget what its customer's value most about the Bank. As Monks relates;

"We've proven that we can attract customers through our service proposition for being reliable, expert and very straightforward with our customers. Our absolute focus as a management team and as 600 people passionate about our customers is to continue to grow and shape a bank that people are proud of.

- Lending increased by over 75%
- Retail deposits increased by almost 60%
- Balance sheet expanded by over 60% to £2.5 billion
- Achieved profitability in third full year of operating
- Targeting another 60% of balance sheet growth in 2013

View our 2012 Annual Results Infographic

Aldermore, Britain's leading challenger bank, has today published its financial results for the year ending 31 December 2012.  These results show that Aldermore significantly expanded all of its business areas during the year, with overall lending up by over 75% and the total balance sheet size up by over 60% to over £2.5 billion. In 2013 Aldermore is targeting another 60%, or £1.5 billion, of balance sheet growth.

During 2012 Aldermore achieved the significant milestones of having lent more than £1 billion to SMEs and more than £1 billion to homeowners and recorded full-year profitability in only the third year of operating.

Data released by the Bank of England on the Funding for Lending Scheme also demonstrated Aldermore's significant contribution to supporting UK householders and SMEs: Aldermore's 2012 net lending figures of £228 million (Q3) and £251 million (Q4) were the fifth and sixth highest figures respectively of all FLS participants.

Alongside achieving full-year profitability, Aldermore also continued to invest in technology, operating platforms and staff to build a bank for the future. The lack of legacy infrastructure is a major benefit in terms of developing and expanding the Bank and in line with Aldermore's growth strategy, 17% more people have been employed by the Bank this year.

Since its inception Aldermore has provided customers with straightforward and attractive banking products, coupled with exceptional customer service, and was delighted to be recognised in 2012 in a number of key industry-leading awards, including:

- Commercial Mortgage Provider of the Year by the NACFB
- Three awards from MoneyFacts (Best Fixed Rate Savings account, Consumer MoneyFacts Best ISA Provider for the second year running and ISA Provider of the year)
- FT Financial Advisor 5 Star Service award for the second year running for its Residential Mortgage business

Phillip Monks, CEO, commented:

"By delivering what retail and SME customers want in terms of products and customer service, underpinned by always being Reliable, Expert, Dynamic and Straightforward, we grew Aldermore's balance sheet to over £2.5 billion in 2012 compared to £1.6 billion last year and we have now lent more than £1 billion to SMEs.  We are supporting UK businesses and homeowners by expanding our lending at a time when a number of the UK's largest banks are reducing their overall lending."

"We are in a great position to build on this being free from legacy systems with modern Internet-based lending and savings products, demonstrating that it is possible to create a real and dynamic alternative to the traditional banks. I look forward to our continued success in 2013 as we grow our market share further as well as launching new products into a marketplace that is hungry for change."

For further information journalists can contact:

Andy Donald, Andrea Coleman or Duncan Browne at Maitland on 020 7395 0475.

Key Financial Information

The full Report and Financial Statements for Aldermore are available for download by clicking here.

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Notes to Editors

About Aldermore

Aldermore is a new British bank and one of the best capitalised banks in the UK. With backing provided by AnaCap and Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, Morgan Stanley's Private Equity Fund of Funds business and new investment from the consortium of funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Honeywell Capital Management and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, Aldermore raises deposits from consumers and lends to homeowners and small and medium sized businesses.

Aldermore does not depend on the wholesale, securitisation or international capital markets and has not been involved in any banking activities or the marketing of any exotic products which have been the cause of problems for so many financial institutions.

As a British bank, Aldermore is regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is registered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which means customers' savings are protected up to the statutory limit of £85,000 per person. Aldermore is also a member of the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Aldermore markets its lending products via professional financial advisers and specialist commercial finance brokers located throughout England and Wales.

About AnaCap Financial Partners

Established in 2005, AnaCap is Europe's largest specialist private equity investment advisor in the financial services sector. Based in London and investing across Europe, AnaCap advises funds with more than €1 billion under management. AnaCap's funds invest in businesses with high growth potential and strong management teams. AnaCap works with management teams to improve infrastructure and business processes. It employs sophisticated, twenty-first century technology to create low cost, scalable, sustainable and highly digital based platforms. AnaCap's day-to-day support allows management to pursue growth strategies in the most efficient and effective manner.

AnaCap's team of professionals also assists investee companies in assessing and reducing key credit and market risks. This expertise in risk and liability management is a key factor in the strong performance of AnaCap's portfolio.

The success of AnaCap's investment strategy and team has attracted investment from highly regarded global institutional investors including Goldman Sachs, Allianz, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, Honeywell, State of New Jersey and Adams Street Partners.