Mr. John Trethowan:

I believe that lack of demand is coming through across Europe in requests for borrowing. The UK experience is the same. My counterpart there is talking to the Department of Trade and to the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood and has outlined to them that the problem is not just on the supply side but that the demand side is weak as well and that there are also capability and structural problems in the SME sectors that need to be repaired. The SMEs coming forward for loans are not all pristine and shiny.