Banks and Financial Institutions hold a critical role in supporting the growth and resilience of SMEs which make up 99% of UK businesses, employing 60% of all private sector workers and generate roughly £2.75 trillion of economic activity per annum. To support their sustainable and prosperous future, Financial Institutions must be actively equipped with the tools and expertise to guide these businesses.
The challenge is the “Invisible Middle” which represent approximately 1/3rd of the top 20 UK banks SME loan books is to SMEs with £5-100m turnover and their lack of transparent capability reporting compared with larger entities. This data gap is not just a reporting challenge for regulated entities; it’s a barrier to growth and resiliency for these firms themselves.
In today’s landscape, major corporations, investors, and public sector bodies are increasingly relying on AI and algorithm-based screening for tender approvals, supply chain partnerships, and investment decisions. When companies fail to publicly share key information, covering areas like Health & Safety, Data Security, Business Ethics, Certification, and Resource Consumption, they often don’t make it past the initial screening stage.
Using the Digital Analyst and proprietary data from The Disruption House, banks and financial institutions can create tangible risk profiles for customers by comparing their existing disclosures against peers within their sector and industry. This process moves them from being ‘invisible’ to ‘visible’ in both a time and cost-efficient way.
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The large institutions can also share these profiles with the SMEs themselves with bespoke recommendations to help them qualify for tenders with larger, regulated entities and improve their overall business performance.
Speaking about the challenges for banks serving this key customer segment Ruper Bull of TDH said, “The role of The Disruption House is to support banks, and financial institutions understand the non-financial risks in this segment more clearly to offer better targeted investment, improve resilience to reduce default risk, and accelerate growth for these clients. We are here to ensure that more companies can make it past the starting gate of their large corporate clients and secure the funding needed to realise their full potential.”
“The Disruption House is uniquely positioned to empower banks and financial institutions to guide their clients through this transition. By helping institutions enable clients to meet expectations; they’re helping them unlock additional funding for growth and investment.” The Disruption House provides the engine for this transformation:
- Expert Tools and Data: The Disruption House delivers specialist tools and data platforms that financial institutions can leverage to conduct rapid baseline assessments and competitive analyses of an SME’s current non-financial disclosures. This quickly identifies capability gaps and clarifies a path to improved performance
- Risk Mitigation and Resilience: The SaaS data platform helps an organisation become more sustainable, making it more resilient, efficient and better prepared for future regulatory changes and reporting requirements. This is a crucial element of the bank’s due diligence process
- Accelerated Access to Capital: A strong, tangible, and verified risk profile significantly improves an SME’s attractiveness for sustainability-linked loans, lower-cost financing, and other investment opportunities tied to environmental and social performance metrics
