NextStep Business Solutions’ Post

Large highstreet banks continuing to step back from parts of the UK SME funding market is a trend we’re seeing more of — including recent moves away from invoice finance. For many SMEs, this can mean: • Reduced appetite for flexibility • Slower decision-making • Fewer funding options tailored to how businesses actually trade Independent providers play a different role. Invoice finance, when delivered by specialists, is built around understanding cashflow, customers, and real trading patterns — not rigid criteria. At Regency Factors, we work closely with SMEs to provide practical, relationship-led funding that supports growth, not just tick-box lending. When the market shifts, experience and focus matter. #BusinessFundingUK #SMEFinance #InvoiceFinance #WorkingCapital #SupportingSMEs

Prospa's Paul Evans notes that SME finance in 2026 is defined by uncertainty, with fluctuating interest rate predictions and rising regulatory demands. https://hubs.ly/Q03-Fmgk0 #SMEFinance #InterestRates #LendingTrends

Backbench MPs are pushing for more scrutiny on banks when it comes to supporting the UK's left-behind regions. But is it all talk? BEF's Chief Executive, Stephen Waud, weighs in on the discussion. Read our full analysis down in the comments 👇 Business Enterprise Fund North East | Loans & Finance for Small Businesses Shaun Connell - Business Finance To Start Or Grow Lee Vickers Simon Jackson - Helping SMEs Grow With Flexible Finance Simon Truby Doug Heseltine Mark Iley Tim Burt - Business Finance To Start Or Grow Responsible Finance British Business Bank

My paper with Théo Nicolas, PhD and Dr. Eric Vansteenberghe on public-guaranteed loans and bank risk-taking during COVID-19 has finally found a home! It has been published in the Journal of Financial Services Research. What did we find? When COVID hit, France rolled out massive loan guarantees to help businesses survive. The big question: would banks use these guarantees to take on more risk, or would they stick to sound lending practices? Our answer might surprise you. Despite covering 70-90% of potential losses, the French guarantee scheme didn't trigger a race to the bottom. Instead, banks continued lending to their safest clients—the stronger the firm, the larger the guaranteed loan. But there's a twist: weaker banks (those with lower capital buffers and higher NPLs pre-pandemic) used the program strategically. They granted larger individual loans, improving their balance sheets through what we call a regulatory capital windfall—a financial rebalancing act in disguise. The bottom line? Well-designed guarantee schemes can support the economy without compromising financial stability. Public guarantees worked as intended, and aggregate credit risk across French banks remained stable throughout the crisis. You can read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/dYhNXkRE A huge thank you to everyone who helped sharpen this work with their invaluable feedback!

🏦 A business can be profitable, well-run, and growing fast but still hit a wall with mainstream lenders. That gap between what banks can fund and what SMEs need has widened, and it’s exactly where special situations finance steps in. We look at the credit blind spots affecting Australian SMEs, why viable businesses end up stranded in the grey zone, and how flexible private credit solutions can bridge the funding gap.Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gnpfaZPz If you're working with clients who sit just outside the bank’s credit appetite, this guide will help you understand what’s really going on behind the scenes and what options they still have.

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed a recurring pattern across SME credit programs in Nigeria, particularly those designed or supported by institutions like Bank of Industry Limited. Loans are disbursed. Projects are completed. Early repayments come in. Everything looks fine. Then, usually after the first repayment cycle, stress appears. This is often explained as borrower indiscipline or weak business capacity. I think that explanation is incomplete. In this piece, I argue that many SME loans fail not because borrowers cannot repay, but because repayment structures are designed for stability that does not exist. I call this moment the repayment cliff. The article is written primarily for lenders, development finance professionals, and policy-adjacent decision-makers working on SME credit design and evaluation, including those who think daily about risk, sustainability, and scale within frameworks influenced by Central Bank of Nigeria. I’d be interested to hear how others interpret early repayment signals in volatile operating environments. Substack: https://lnkd.in/dKSMK9Kd

The African Development Bank–Nedbank partnership shows how blended finance can expand housing access and trade liquidity in #South Africa’s #Economy, supporting #Finance and #Trade.

The African Development Bank–Nedbank partnership shows how blended finance can expand housing access and trade liquidity in #South Africa’s #Economy, supporting #Finance and #Trade.

The African Development Bank–Nedbank partnership shows how blended finance can expand housing access and trade liquidity in #South Africa’s #Economy, supporting #Finance and #Trade.

The African Development Bank–Nedbank partnership shows how blended finance can expand housing access and trade liquidity in #South Africa’s #Economy, supporting #Finance and #Trade.