Abstract
Small firms are reliant upon high street banks for the vast majority of their external borrowing. However, despite the dramatic increase in numbers of small firms over the 1980s, and the subsequent rise in bank lending to this sector, the relationship has been far from ideal. This paper investigates whether Scottish and English banks have different lending cultures. In doing so we provide some empirical evidence in support of the findings of Stiglitz and Weiss, that adjusting interest rate margins and/or collateral ratios did not reduce the problem of adverse selection. We tentatively conclude that Scottish banks appear to be more responsive, knowledgeable and sympathetic towards their small firm customers than English banks.
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