HSBC announces $5 billion global fund to support businesses

The fund has been designed to help customers with fundamentally sound businesses weather short-term shocks caused by the downturn, by supplying working capital to help businesses with their cash flow needs and support businesses that trade or aspire to trade internationally.

The fund represents new money and will be funded from HSBC's own resources, allocated on a case-by-case basis using the bank's normal lending criteria.

More than 32,000 small and medium-sized business customers have moved their banking to HSBC since the start of the year, and the bank has already lent more this year than last. HSBC hopes to use its financial strength to help around the world by delivering this new $5 billion fund to support their customers, as it believes that these businesses are the lifeblood of most economies and it is their continued success that will provide a stimulus to create economic growth and restore the UK economy.

HSBC has also announced that it will increase its mortgage lending in the UK next year from this years projected £13bn to £15bn, although this will still leave it as a minor player in the market. Last year they lent £8bn.