Funding report: Branching out

If you could step into a time machine and zap back to the day the very first issue of Lancashire Business View came off the presses 17 years ago, you’d find yourself in a very different world.

These were the heady days of bank branches on every high street, with managers who were part of the community, knew customers by name and had the power to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to overdraft and loan applications.

It was long before the likes of online banks, apps, Paypal, peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding and fintech. Cash remained king for most and the cheque was always in the post.

There has been much debate about the retreat of the big banks from our communities. But were things really better back then? They were certainly different.