Mr. John Trethowan:

The key point is that when demand rises, the demand by SMEs to borrow rises and when the SMEs go to the banks, not all of them will be in pristine condition - well capitalised, nice cash flows and good track records for the past three or four years. However some of them will still be viable in an upturn. The key to growth is that banks are not found wanting when they get the challenging applications. That will require some skill and enterprise by the banks.