Cambridge & Counties Bank joins LSB’s business and asset finance framework

Cambridge & Counties Bank has become the latest financial services firm to achieve full registration to both the LSB’s Standards of Lending Practice for business customers (‘the business Standards’) and the Standards for business customers – asset finance (‘the Asset Finance Standards’).

The Standards set the benchmark for good lending practice in the UK, providing protections for SMEs across the entire customer journey. They are the only protections of their kind and are one of only four industry codes formally recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Cambridge & Counties Bank is a dedicated specialist lender and a leading provider of real estate finance and asset finance for SMEs. Their registration follows the completion of an interim registration period, during which the lender worked with the LSB to ensure its compliance with the Standards.

The Standards were written specifically for SMEs as a distinct customer group and cover things like SMEs’ access to advice, how firms should communicate with SMEs, personal guarantees, or how firms should approach declined applications.

While the FCA’s regulatory perimeter excludes business lending over £25,000 and lending to limited companies, the business Standards cover lending products provided to all SMEs with a turnover up to £25m, with enhanced protections for SMEs with a turnover up to £6.5m.