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Lloyds Banking Group has yesterday announced that it will support 25,000 first time exporters by 2020.

This is part of a wider effort to support small and medium sized enterprises (SME) across the country. The announcement is part of the Lloyds SME Charter published yesterday.

The pledge will contribute towards the government’s own target of having 100,000 more UK companies exporting – as part of its Exporting is GREAT campaign – by the end of the decade.

Lord Price, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, welcomed the news saying:

This government has committed to having 100,000 more UK companies exporting by 2020 and this pledge by Lloyds is a welcome contribution towards this target.

It’s great to see the banks doing their bit to support small and medium sized businesses looking to invest and create jobs.

By working together like this we can make sure British businesses up and down the country have the support they need to export their goods and services around the world, and that the UK remains a great trading nation.

UKTI support for partnership with Lloyds

UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) will work with Lloyds to ensure:

• Lloyds are linked into the Exporting is GREAT programme
• businesses are sign-posted to relevant products and services
• UKTI international trade advisers join with Lloyds to provide support for exporters via events and marketing campaigns
• expertise is shared through joint training

Lloyds Banking Group’s pledge for new exporters

Gareth Oakley, Managing Director, SME Banking, Lloyds Banking Group, said:

The future success of the UK economy hinges on small businesses looking to overseas markets for growth.

Through this new pledge, we want to support a new legion of UK exporters, and ultimately to help the UK economy to prosper.

The pledge includes a commitment to support 5,000 companies during 2016 which is part of a wider SME Charter. This charter outlines a number of steps Lloyds will take to support:

• lending to small businesses
• start-ups
• small businesses looking to grow

Gareth Oakley said:

We have been working in partnership with UKTI for the past year, looking at ways to boost UK exports, and through this commitment we hope to contribute towards its goal of supporting 100,000 new exporters by 2020.

Lloyds Banking Group will also continue to work in partnership with the British Business Bank and UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency.

This will ensure finance and insurance products are available to meet the needs of SME exporters, whether from the private sector or with government support.