Mr. Richie Boucher:

ISME are not the only people who put out surveys. There are a range of other surveys that come out that would tend to be different. I just do not know what ISME’s survey sample was and what questions were asked. A survey also depends on the size of the base sample. We would love the 85% figure to be higher but there will inevitably be cases where we will have to say, “No”. It is human nature. Someone gets credit approval and they move on quickly. Someone who does not is more likely to go to a representative body or elected representative to see if they can get help. We have no problem with that.

Like I said earlier we do not get all our decisions right. SME lending is the most difficult form of lending we do. It involves meeting a businessperson, looking at their plan and trying to figure out how it will be in the future. It is not like one presses four buttons and the answer spews out.