Banks are likely to be affected by proposed regulation changes in July which will see them work more closely with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) customers to better protect those borrowers moving forward, according to wealth advisory group, Omniwealth.
Omniwealth would launch its Advisory Services and had formalised its debt and finance team under Omniwealth director, Atle Crowe-Maxwell, to assist SMEs in the adjustment to potential new bank lending practices.
“In the event that the changes are adopted, banks will have to communicate much further in advance to their customers about changes in the covenants or other criteria,” Crowe-Maxwell said.
“We see the advisory team being able to act more like advocates for our clients with the banks because the banks will be required to release much more information as to their concerns about the client’s ability to meet their financial liabilities.”
Crowe-Maxwell said concerns on the part of banks would be communicated to clients more directly through the offering, which would also benefit their security in the long-term.
“Where a bank has concerns over valuations of property and other assets that support loan facilities, these concerns… will be communicated in a timely way to clients so they can respond,” he said.
“The proposed rules should better protect borrowers than in the past because they will have more time to respond to their bank about changes required.”
