Banks have a golden opportunity to boost lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the midst of the pandemic, they are the conduits for billions in state funding to support this crucial segment of the economy. But cumbersome legacy IT systems and outdated risk profiling stand in the way. Agile new competitors are already taking customers away from established banks, even though many companies have existing banking relationships.

How can banks stop this business from flowing away? Taking a data-centric approach can enable banks to streamline risk assessment and loan approvals, create products personalized to their customers’ needs, meet regulatory requirements, and ultimately power this potentially high-growth market to the recovery that all economies need post-pandemic.