The Financial Conduct Authority has found “no evidence” that its own regulation is a major barrier to small and medium-sized businesses raising money, in a review published yesterday that instead pointed to low awareness of funding options, complex products and commission-driven incentives in the unregulated end of the lending market.
“We found no evidence that FCA regulation is a major barrier to SME access to finance. Nonetheless, SMEs face challenges accessing finance on both the demand-side and supply-side,” the review said.
The regulator launched the review in March into why UK small and medium-sized enterprises were taking out fewer loans than businesses in other countries, and whether its own rules were contributing to the problem.
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