What is business and corporate banking?
Business and corporate banking is for those who have businesses or accounts where commercial transactions take place and therefore they need to be kept separate from ordinary, personal accounts.
Business and corporate banking offer similar services, essentially, to personal banking, with slightly different charging scales and one or two additional services which the personal account would not require.
Who is it for?
This is available to those with businesses of any variety or size, so long as they fulfil the banks' risk criteria.
Those with any of the following may find it harder to be accepted for a business account with a bank or building society:
- Previous history of insolvency
- Company liquidation
- Directors or owners of companies which have been made or have volunteered to become bankrupt
- Outstanding county court judgements or
- Convicted fraudsters
What is available?
Business needs vary and the accounts that serve businesses vary, too. With more complex needs, bank and building society managers are happy to talk through the available options and help with the decision. They are sometimes flexible, so if the exact fit is not available, be prepared to negotiate something that suits you better.
Business and Corporate Banking Services
- Free Internet Banking
- Standard Current Accounts - with a credit card, debit card, cheque book, bank statement. A small fee is usually charged on business accounts on a monthly basis
- Specialist Bank Accounts – E.g. Community banking, school banking, private banking, technology sector, agricultural accounts or specialist mortgages
- Client Call Account – where you hold your clients cash separately from your business cash. A solicitor might put the deposit for a house which is paid on exchange of contracts in such an account
- Loans - Fixed rate loans where you know what the rate of interest that you are going to pay or base-rate loans, where the interest rate follows the Bank of England rate
- Hire Purchase or Lease Purchase Schemes - where items of large capital value can be bought, for a set rate each month, over an agreed period of time
- Loan Guarantee Schemes - where the business can borrow more than they normally would if the bank manager thinks the proposal seems good
- Loans and specific help with items of large capital such as a car – some banks offer special schemes for designated items
- Specific Finance - for certain projects, for example, GP surgery expansion, farm loans
- Savings Accounts
- Finance and Cash-Flow - To help with the daily needs of the business
- Factoring and Invoice Discounting – where the bank chases invoices and pays the customer in advance so that the cash-flow is not disrupted by late payment
- International Trading - Trading on stocks and shares
- Cash, Charge and Credit Cards
- Insurances - Business related. E.g. Loan repayment insurance, accident insurance, staff fraud, sickness or disability insurance
- Special Start Up Packages - Expert business support and advice
- Off-set Banking for certain businesses
- Services for High Turnover Businesses - Businesses with higher turnovers can expect a more personal and closer relationship with designated bank managers. Some banks offer, with turnovers in excess of £10 million, access to industry specialists, advice and support on international trade, private finance initiatives and structured project finance as part of their service
Business and corporate banking services are broad, extensive and can be confusing. Use your bank or building society manager to help to pick out what is best for you. They will help you to keep things as simple as possible and stay on top of business finance. It is in their interest that your business flourishes with their bank.
If you are considering starting up a new company or have recently set up a small business, bytestart.co.uk has lots of useful information and articles to help you, including some detailed business finance guides.
