Brokers ranked interest rate movements as the dominant force shaping SME borrowing over the coming year, at 28%. Economic growth and customer demand followed (21%), then inflation and business costs (19%), and government policy (17%) trailing behind.
Biggest expected driver of SME demand — next 12 months
Source: Atom bank SME Pulse, Q2 2026. Respondents selected their single biggest expected driver of SME demand over the next 12 months. Figures do not sum to 100% in source material; 15% shown as “not stated”.
Demand recovering, but from a low base
The Q2 data offered some encouragement. More than a third (38%) of brokers said SME client demand had risen, three percentage points higher than Q1 2026. The share reporting falling demand shrank to just 4%, down from 12% the previous quarter.
Improved business confidence was the primary explanation, named by 67% of respondents, with broader product choice (44%) and greater lender appetite (28%) also cited. That signal broadly aligns with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s September 2026 Growth Indicator, which found businesses’ overall outlook is the least pessimistic in almost two years.
Are brokers finding it harder to secure SME funding?
Beneath the demand recovery, a less comfortable picture is forming around credit availability. One in four brokers (25%) said they were finding it difficult to secure funding for SME clients. This was up from 19% in Q1 and more than double the 11% who reported accessibility issues in Q4 2025, a record low at the time.
Stricter lending criteria, rate pressure, and a tilt among lenders toward larger corporate clients were the factors brokers most commonly identified. UK Finance figures show gross SME lending hit a five-year high in Q1 2026. And yet, commercial brokers report the smallest borrowers are finding it harder than ever to get a deal done.
