The offer is part of the HSBC Bank Business Solutions (HBBS) package targeted at small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The new facilities were launched yesterday during a press conference attended by representatives from the Chamber of small and medium Enterprises (GRTU) and Malta Enterprise, both of whom were consulted by HSBC management before it drew up the new schemes.

Among the highlights, the bank is introducing a Flexible Business Loan that it is anticipated will help entrepreneurs stabilise their cash-flow, setting a repayment scheme that suits their requirements. The Commercial Property Loan is aimed at financing business premises, also identified as a common load on cash flow.

Besides loan facilities, the HBBS includes a range of services and financial management consultancy, a commercial credit card and various foreign exchange and payment services.

HSBC Bank Malta chief operating officer Martin Wilkins said the business solutions were made to be as user friendly as possible in view of the fact that SMEs often find the administrative requirements of loan facilities burdening.

He explained that customers approaching the bank for small scale facilities need not present a professional business proposal, drafted by financial consultants, but can get a go ahead for the facility with a proposal they have drafted themselves. In this connection Malta Enterprise official Adam De Domenico said the bank’s attitude vis a vis the business plan echoes the position taken by their organisation. “We insist that SMEs that approach us for help, draft their own business plan,” he said, “and the response we get is that the business plan exercise gives them a good insight about their business.”

Mr Wilkins amplified the argument saying that it was better for SMEs to present a plan they believed in, rather than have a plan full of figures they did not understand. GRTU director general Vince Farrugia thanked the bank for consulting them on the matter. He praised HSBC, saying it had taken a step in the direction of recognising the SME sector as one of particular interest.

He complained that although many claim that SMEs are the backbone of the Maltese economy, the sector is often given lip service and not the attention it calls for.

However, Mr Farrugia said that there was a change in this trend coming from certain institutions, of which HSBC was an example. In line with what Mr Wilkins said, Mr Farrugia said that complicated procedures were a major deterrent for SMEs with regards to gaining access to funds.

He also commented on the financial products on offer saying that both the flexible and the commercial premises facilities could help SMEs with cash flow issues that, he said, was a very big problem that will have serious implications if not dealt with soon.