We want to know how our regulation can help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access finance.
Supporting growth is one of our strategy’s 4 priorities[2] and this work is part of our commitment to making sure businesses have better access to capital.
Introduction
SMEs are crucial to the UK economy. At the start of 2025, they accounted for 60% of private sector employment and 50% of its turnover.
Securing external finance allows business to start up and grow. However, the evidence suggests[3] that the UK’s SME demand for finance is low compared to international counterparts.
Our work
We want to understand how our regulation affects SME access to finance, including its impact on different firms and sectors.
This work will help us design our regulatory approach and prioritise future work. Potential outcomes could be, for example, a review of our rules or clarifying specific requirements. We will test any specific proposals with stakeholders through consultation.
This work will complement the joint initiatives being undertaken by the Treasury with the Bank of England on access to finance for ‘high potential growth firms’[4] and by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) on demand and supply side barriers for SME finance through their call for input[5].
Scope of work
Types of SME finance
We want to understand how our regulation can support SME finance across debt, equity, hybrid and alternative finance.
Our focus is on financial products and services that we regulate.
However, we are considering the impact of our regulation on FCA-regulated firms that offer products and services to SMEs outside our regulatory perimeter.
Areas of interest
Within the context of our regulation, we’re exploring:
- Barriers to SME finance, including regulation that directly affects the cost and/or perceived risk of providing SME finance.
- Opportunities for future regulation to better support the provision of SME finance, such as industry collaboration and adopting innovation and new tech.
- Sector-specific issues in getting finance, particularly for high-growth sectors such as Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Defence, Digital and Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences and Professional and Business Services.
- Future trends including the role of open finance.
Lessons from international experience
We have also commissioned research into comparable international jurisdictions’ approach to SME access to finance.
The research is considering the outcomes and examines the key market structures, policy interventions, and institutional features that may explain cross country differences.
Getting stakeholders’ views
In Q1 2026, we received views on the impact of our regulation from:
- SMEs about their experience of applying for finance, including the process, outcomes and the support they received. We invited views from SMEs in specific sectors, including the high-growth sectors listed above.
- Providers and distributors of SME finance about any regulatory blockers or opportunities they have seen.
This Call for Input has now closed.
Timelines and next steps
We have:
- Engaged directly with SME representatives and trade associations.
We will:
- Hold a roundtable with key stakeholders in June 2026.
- Produce a summary of the insights from this engagement and the international research, and an update on the next steps later in 2026.
SME access to finance roundtable
Our stakeholder roundtable will take place in June 2026, at a London venue.
This event aims to bring together a representative group of firms, SME representatives and government organisations.
The discussion will focus on the current and future shape of SME finance; navigating the market and consumer journey; availability of SME finance and the regulatory barriers; and future trends and open finance.
Places at the roundtable are necessarily limited to ensure a balanced and effective discussion. If you've not received an invite and would like to register your interest in attending, contact [email protected] by Friday 22 May 2026.