Paragon Bank’s SME lending division has reduced asset finance credit decision times by about 39% following investment in its customer experience.
The Southampton-based lender said the reduction, measured over a 12-month period from receipt of proposal to credit decision, followed continued investment in staff, processes and technology.
The bank said the changes had improved the speed and consistency of decision-making for brokers, vendors and SMEs.
Offer rates increased by around 13% year-on-year, while conversion from offer to completed transaction rose by around 4%. Paragon’s SME customer base grew by approximately 8% over the same period.
The lender said the largest increases in deal volumes were seen across cars, agriculture, commercial vehicles and waste and recycling. Agriculture, plant machinery and light commercial vehicles recorded some of the highest increases in deal values.
Paragon is also continuing to support smaller businesses through the British Business Bank’s Growth Guarantee Scheme. It has received a further £63 million allocation, available to deploy until 31 March 2027.
Since the scheme launched, Paragon said it had deployed approximately £80 million to SMEs, supporting investment in soft assets and operational improvements including energy-efficiency upgrades, cybersecurity infrastructure and workforce training.
The bank said service improvements had been supported by enhancements to its broker portal, including expanded self-serve functionality and system upgrades intended to reduce manual intervention and speed up deal progression.
It has also invested in internal sales and support teams across broker and vendor channels to improve responsiveness and consistency of service.
