More good news

Not in the office today - but nevertheless great to get e-mails on my iPhone from Lloyds that appointments have been booked in the case of each of the two referrals made yesterday to them. They receive from me, with the buyers full authorisation, a precis of the lending proposal along with financial information, so I know they must be looking to lend if they are putting an appointment in the diary expeditiously. The financial news today includes comment on Lloyds returning to profit although growth in the lending book is flat including that to SME's. Some would point to falling demand (namely borrowing to invest in ones business is being deferred to more certain economic periods, hopefully ahead), others to customers paying debt down in this tough financial climate and some to an overly cautious risk approach to lending. In any event I am pleased to see that locally Lloyds are hungry to lend and grow their lending book with good quality propositions, including the use of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme where appropriate.