Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
Comment on the article and the research:
"Researchers spoke to 500 companies and found 75 per cent had seen no change in banks' attitudes to lending.
You surprise me - of those 500, how many were actively seeking additional funding? What were they expecting, their bank manager to phone them up out of the blue and offer them more loans? How many were bitter at being turned down? What about those that did receive loans?
"Some 70 per cent of respondents said better access to funding would allow them to expand their businesses and hire more staff."
Of course they would. Doesn't mean they are in the business position to be ready to expand. Every single entrant is Dragons Den expects that additional funds "will send their company global". Doesn't mean their business plan is worth the paper it's written on, hence so many not getting investment.
A straw poll of 500 companies hardly allows a conclusion to be drawn.
Perhaps the real answer can only be found by forcing the banks to publish the number and value of the loans they make. Oh, wait, they already do that.