MP’s Plea for Banks to play fair with Stockport businesses

A local MP's passionate plea to Parliament for fair play by the banks when working with Stockport firms is to be followed up by a top level meeting in London to try and sort out the problems.

Andrew Stunell MP called on the Government to help Stockport businesses secure the funding they need by forcing the reluctant banks to help, in a debate in Westminster this week. Ministers have now agreed to hold a roundtable with the banks and local businesses to clear the air.

"Business after business in Hazel Grove has told me of their bad experiences dealing with the banks. As a direct result expansion has been halted or delayed, and new jobs for our area have been blocked. Export orders have been slowed down or cancelled, and as a result three quarters of all small business locally say that getting bank finance is their biggest business worry."

"At the same time the big banks bombard MPs and the government with a blizzard of bumf designed to say that everything is fine and that the problem is that local companies just won't take the money they want them to have."

"I want everyone in the same room at the same time, instead of talking on two different planets."

Mr Stunell says good progress has been made by the Coalition Government at pumping public money into the system, but he wants speedy action on the new Business Bank to by-pass the conventional retail banks that he believes are failing local businesses.

In Parliament Mr Stunell strongly criticised each of the five High Street banks, each of whom had business clients in his Hazel Grove constituency who had been let down by them.

"I've quoted the cases of four very different local companies, each of whom has lost out because the banks are not doing their job properly. Boosting small businesses is a vital part of rebuilding our economy. The banks, who have had shed loads of our money, must now start to match up what they are telling us in Government about their successful support of business to what they are actually doing on the ground."