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Allica Bank’s Conrad Ford Discusses the Banking Demands of the SME Sector
Conrad Ford, Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Allica Bank chats to FF News’ Ali Paterson about the demands that members of the SME sector have of their banking partners.
“Well first it’s a common point but it’s a very important one: SME means many things. I would say there’s really 2 main categories of SMEs. There’s micro-businesses, which in the UK would be a few million businesses. These would typically be 0, 1 or 2 employees. That’s the kind of mass-market area. The banking needs of micro businesses are relatively simple. Albeit, there are some specialist providers that are beginning to get really good with stuff that relates to financial services like tax management.”
“When you move into the M in SME, they’re far less numerous. In the UK there’s a few hundred thousand of them, but it’s actually a much bigger revenue pool and a much bigger segment of the economy. So those few hundred thousand businesses are actually a much more important part of the SME segment to society as a whole.”
“Now, those businesses are complex and they have a wide range of needs, some of them trading internationally. They are in very different sectors which means their banking needs are very different and their financing needs are very different. What they really need is a bank that understands them and is actually willing to get under the skin of what makes their business different from every other business out there.”
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