The bank will formally refer its business customers to the panel, called Capital Connections, if they fail to meet the requirements to avail a loan.
Capital Connections builds on NatWest’s existing partnerships to signpost small business customers to alternative sources of finance.
NatWest said that the panel is entering its final full launch phase, after a successful pilot.
Earlier this year, the pilot phase introduced the wider panel of lenders to commercial customers with a turnover of up to £25m in South West England, Wales and Scotland.
NatWest CEO of commercial and private banking Alison Rose said: “Following a successful pilot, I’m delighted that we will now be able to formally refer all business and commercial scale businesses, across England and Wales, to an unrivalled panel of experts and professionals with a wide range of lending appetites.”
Capital Connections consists of two peer-to-peer or marketplace lending platforms Assetz Capital and Funding Circle, which are already working with NatWest.
The panel has been expanded with the inclusion of iwoca, which offers working capital financing to small businesses.
The bank expects more firms to join the panel in the coming months.
It has selected the partners to cover a range of different funding products and include a mix of speciality finance and peer-to-peer lending.
In September, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announced plans to overhaul its structure over the next two years to comply with the UK’s ring-fencing requirements.
According to the new structure, the holding company will comprise NatWest, Adam & Company and Ulster Bank Ireland DAC.
Image: RBS Building, 250 Bishopsgate, London. Photo courtesy of RBS.
