I was wondering how often an existing customer approaches you for a new lending product but doesn't meet your bank's threshold. I'm curious about the dynamic where high street banks might pass on loans to smaller lenders. Could you discuss that?

A couple of factors come into play. If the leverage is high and we don't know the customer or have a track record with them, it's sometimes easier to pass on the opportunity. It's much simpler to decline if there's no existing relationship because there's no loss or disappointment involved. We reviewed it with a few other lenders and decided it wasn't for us. In this case, we took a closer look and escalated it internally for a credit review. We conducted a credit forum, which is our usual process for new-to-bank opportunities that appear promising. However, the lack of a track record was a significant issue, especially for high street banks.

I was wondering how often an existing customer approaches you for a new lending product but doesn't meet your bank's threshold. I'm curious about the dynamic where high street banks might pass on loans to smaller lenders. Could you discuss that?

I was shadowing another deal for a colleague who was on annual leave. It was in recruitment, a sector some banks are hesitant about due to its contractual nature and unpredictability. We couldn't get comfortable with it, and we lost it. Again, a challenger bank took it on, and it seems to be doing okay. You keep an eye on these things in the market and hear if they haven't done well. These two deals are still ongoing, and nothing has happened with these customers in the last couple of years. They seem to be trading well.