Judo Bank reveal hiring staff and raising wages high on SME wish lists. So what’s stopping them?

By Tom Watson · · 2 min read
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More staff, higher pay, better conditions? Sounds like a win-win for both employers and employees.  

According to Judo Bank’s SME Banking Insights Report for 2019 that’s exactly what Australian business owners actually want to be able to provide. 

The new research, which involved interviews with owners and managers from over 1,750 SMEs, found that more than 20% wanted to hire more staff and 25% wanted to provide higher wages and better conditions for their current staff. 

That’s if they had access to some extra funding.  

So what’s stopping small and medium sized businesses taking the leap to take out a business loan? 

Well, contrary to Australian Banking Association research released earlier this month, Judo Bank found that SME’s are not applying for finance because they’re often turned away from, or don’t trust, traditional credit providers. 

In fact, Judo Bank’s report revealed that 25% of SME’s were turned away after approaching a bank for credit. Meanwhile, trust in the banking sector, particularly with the big banks, has dropped to just 2.4/10 in the wake of the royal commission. 

“It is most definitely not a demand issue as the big banks claim,” said Judo Bank’s Chief Financial Officer, Chris Bayliss. “On the contrary, this report confirms that it is entirely a problem with supply.” 

“Our major banks gave up on SMEs long ago, and this is reflected in the growing finance gap highlighted in the Judo Bank-commissioned report.” 

“Many SMEs have obviously concluded that the big banks simply have no appetite for their financing requirements. And that may explain why SME customers remain deeply skeptical about the major banks - and unhappy with the services on offer.”

Despite all this, small and medium-sized businesses still want to borrow money, with the report indicating that 46% of SMEs want to do so in the next year. 

RELATED: Small business loan approvals from banks are at 94%, so why have applications declined?

If you’re one of those businesses looking for finance to invest in new staff, equipment or just to help you grow, check out some of the great offers below. 

Or head over to Mozo’s dedicated business loan comparison table where you’ll be able to compare over 40 different loan offers from bank and non-bank lenders.

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