Our annual interest rates range from 4% to 12% with a current average of 7.3%. They’re fixed for the life of your loan with us.
How we decide which rate to charge
We consider each loan application we receive on an individual basis and take into account the following factors when we decide which interest rate to charge:
- The creditworthiness of your business, which we assess using a Credit Reference Agency
- Available security
- Your business’ recent financial performance
Once we’ve assessed these factors we grade each loan application from band A to F to help us determine the interest rate (F representing the highest risk).
Our latest interest rates
The following table shows the weighted average interest rate we charged on loans between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018, broken down per quarter and as a total:
| Grade | Weighted average Q1 | Weighted average Q2 | Weighted average Q3 | Weighted average Q4 | Total weighted average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 6.2% | 5.0% | N/A | 5.2% | 5.5% |
| B | 6.6% | 5.0% | 6.4% | 6.2% | 6.4% |
| C | 7.3% | 6.9% | 6.7% | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| D | 8.2% | 7.1% | 7.7% | 7.5% | 7.5% |
| E | 8.5% | 8.6% | 8.1% | 8.1% | 8.4% |
| F | 9.6% | 9.6% | 8.4% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| TOTAL | 7.7% | 7.0% | 7.5% | 7.1% | 7.3% |
Loans sanctioned per band
The following table provides a percentage breakdown of the total number of loans sanctioned by value per band between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018:
| Grade | % Number of deals | % Value sanctioned |
|---|---|---|
| A | 3% | 3% |
| B | 9% | 15% |
| C | 17% | 41% |
| D | 10% | 13% |
| E | 14% | 12% |
| F | 48% | 16% |
| Total | 100% | 100% |
Enterprise zones
We can reduce the interest rate on our loans by up to 2% for businesses either based in a Welsh enterprise zone or willing to move to one.
Interest rate reviews
Every year we commission an independent expert to review our fees and interest rate policy and practice to ensure they remain in line with the market and are applied fairly and consistently.