Mr. John Trethowan:

Obviously they have a fair view of the banking system and the state of the banks. We were able to outline some of the challenges that face SMEs at present, both established SMEs that have been through a period of low growth and those whose reserves have been invested in depreciated fixed assets such as buy-to-let properties and are thus not available for the businesses. We have also seen some businesses that did not go to banks but invested in capital projects with their working capital. That is a very dangerous thing to do, because at some point one will run out of cash but the project will not be finished and cheques or payments will start to bounce. We have had to intervene on behalf of such businesses. There is also the question of start-ups and the possibility of getting them capitalised and mentored.