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the question, hosted on behalf of the Office of fair Trading, will look to find out how business owners are being treated by major lenders who are thought to be reluctant to lend to small firms in recent months. Thomas Parry, research manager for the Forum, said: “clearly, the issue of the way banks treat small firms has received an enormous amount of attention recently and sparked a lot of debate. “One the one hand, groups like the Forum have been arguing that viable smaller firms are being unjustifiably denied credit, or offered it at an extortionate cost, by risk-averse banks which often don’t understand their needs.

“On the other hand, the banks and their industry groups have claimed that lending is down simply because demand is down and they are doing everything they can to increase the flow of finance to business.

there is also a wider debate about competition between banks, with some critics arguing that smaller firms, particularly in Scotland, face a limited amount of choice in the marketplace. “We hope this survey will provide the OFT with clear, empirical evidence and reinforce the valid concerns many small business owners have over their relationships with their banks, and the banking industry in general.

” Forum of Private Business creates survey to understand lending to SME’s