A new service that is intended to help resolve issues between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and banks is set to launch during the autumn.

The Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS) launches in November and will provide adjudication to sort out ongoing disputes between SMEs and the banks that have loaned them money. The idea is that this will enable companies to deal with problems of this kind without needing to rely on legal proceedings that can carry both the risk of losing the dispute and incurring heavy costs.

While this sounds like a valuable service for SMEs, there are some drawbacks. Perhaps the most significant of these is that only those firms that have turnovers of more than £6.5 million per year and existing assets totalling £7.5 million will be able to use it.

Clearly, this will rule out many firms at the smaller end of the scale, despite these being the ones least able to pursue conventional legal means of resolving financial disputes with banks. Those smaller companies will have to continue to turn to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), but a small business accountant in South Yorkshire or another part of the country can also provide helpful advice to firms in that position.

The creation of the BBRS is a response to growing complaints from SMEs since the financial crisis of 2008, and it will look at issues with banks from 2001 onwards. Resolution options on offer will range from formal mediation to early financial settlements.