The BPIF and Unite have written to Chancellor Alistair Darling to voice concerns over the "unhelpful attitude of banks to small print businesses".
A joint letter penned by BPIF chief executive Michael Johnson and Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke has been sent out in response to reports from members that terms being offered by banks are worsening, with firms finding it increasingly difficult to access funding. The letter warns: "If printing companies cannot get access to cash and credit they need, there is a real risk we could see healthy firms go under that would otherwise have every prospect of successfully weathering the storm." According to Johnson and Burke, the next six months are critical, and they have challenged the Chancellor to "secure some benefit for business" from the bailout unveiled last year. Concern is also voiced over debtor days, which the unions say are running at an average of 59 days, stressing that printing companies usually get paid slower for the goods they supply to customers than the rate at which they pay for raw materials. The letter comes as the market predicts Libor, the rate at which banks lend to each other and a key determiner of interest rates, will fall to around 1% above base rate this year, down from 3% at the height of the crisis. In addition, the Bank of England is set to cut interest rates to less than 2% in an historic move expected tomorrow with the aim of increasing the supply of funds available to the economy.
A joint letter penned by BPIF chief executive Michael Johnson and Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke has been sent out in response to reports from members that terms being offered by banks are worsening, with firms finding it increasingly difficult to access funding. The letter warns: "If printing companies cannot get access to cash and credit they need, there is a real risk we could see healthy firms go under that would otherwise have every prospect of successfully weathering the storm." According to Johnson and Burke, the next six months are critical, and they have challenged the Chancellor to "secure some benefit for business" from the bailout unveiled last year. Concern is also voiced over debtor days, which the unions say are running at an average of 59 days, stressing that printing companies usually get paid slower for the goods they supply to customers than the rate at which they pay for raw materials. The letter comes as the market predicts Libor, the rate at which banks lend to each other and a key determiner of interest rates, will fall to around 1% above base rate this year, down from 3% at the height of the crisis. In addition, the Bank of England is set to cut interest rates to less than 2% in an historic move expected tomorrow with the aim of increasing the supply of funds available to the economy.
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