Today I spoke in a debate on supporting small businesses, called for by Jeremy Lefroy MP.
I was only afforded a short intervention, I focused on how banks claim they are investing in customer relationship managers to try and understand invidual business needs, yet the businesses I meet have real concerns about just how effective this is.
My questions raised:
'My hon. Friend has been making some excellent points, and I am sure that all of us will relate the various issues he has raised to our constituencies and businesses. The holy grail for the banks seems to be to provide customer relationship managers. Does my hon. Friend feel that they will really be given the flexibility and authority to make decisions about lending money? Do they have applied business experience to enable them to make the right decisions?'
The full text for the debate can be seen on:
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2010-09-07a.24.0&s=speaker%3A24870 g34.2