More than half of the local business leaders believed that finance will be more accessible in 2010, while 88 percent reported that their lenders are very supportive of their businesses.

The latest Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) revealed that privately held businesses (PHBs) around the world are increasingly confident that access to finance will be easier in 2010.

The results were released by audit, tax and business advisory firm Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A), a Grant Thornton Philippine member firm.

Thirty-five percent of businesses said they thought access to finance would be much more accessible in 2010 compared with only 14 percent who were similarly positive 12 months ago.

Businesses were also asked how supportive they believed their lenders would be. Sixty-nine percent feel their lender is currently being 'supportive' or 'very supportive' towards their business - unchanged from 2009.

However, huge global differences appear when lender support is compared to accessibility of finance, with four scenarios emerging

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) show that in November last year, bank lending – including reverse repurchase agreements – increased by 2.6 percent year on year to P2.3 trillion.

With the economy showing signs of recovering, lending activity is expected to gain momentum in 2010 as banks ease their lending policies.

“Even when the global economic crisis hit us last year, the attitude of Filipino business leaders regarding their access to finance and the support they got from their lenders was still more upbeat compared to the global average,” says Marivic Españo, managing partner and CEO of P&A.

“And now, that confidence has been bolstered by signs that we are pulling out of the crisis. Banks are getting the word out that they expect to lend more, if not to big corporations then to SMEs that can drive growth. This bodes well for local businesses that want to expand in 2010.”

IBR respondents were also asked which of the following constraints served as the biggest roadblocks to their business expansion: Lack of skilled workforce; shortage of working capital; shortage of orders/reduced demand; shortage of long-term finance; cost of finance; and red tape.