§ Sir Michael GryllsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of whether the participating lenders under the small firms loan guarantee scheme are fully informing unsuccessful applicants of the reason for rejection, differentiating between ineligibility, lack of a viable business proposal and lack of credibility of the applicant. [19752]
§ Mr. PageNo assessment has been made of the information given to an applicant where their loan application has been rejected. The scheme is appropriate only when a lender considers the business proposal for a loan to be viable and would be prepared to lend but for the lack of collateral to use as security against a conventional loan or overdraft. If the loan application fails to meet the lender's normal commercial appraisal criteria the scheme should not even be considered and the notification of rejection should be subject to the lenders standard practice.
Any complaints received by the Department are investigated and, where appropriate, the matter is taken up with the lender concerned.