42.5 per cent of businesses now bank online

The British Bankers' Association has provided its latest snapshot of the small business banking market.

Although clubs, charities and societies operate small business accounts with banks, their activities are not commercial in nature and are therefore not covered by these data. Main features over the twelve months to the end of March 2006 were:

"With more than half a million new banking relationships being established in the last twelve months and a significant proportion of all businesses now banking online, the banks' effective support for the small business sector is clear. While deposit and overdraft growth are both around 8% per annum, the moderation in growth in term lending is noteworthy and suggests that small firms are settling down to a more sustainable level of borrowing."