During a number of meetings throughout the country, Dr Peter Hughes, Chief Executive of Scottish Engineering has been inundated with complaints from senior executives of member companies who are reporting that banks, and the Bank of Scotland in particular, continue to be extremely unhelpful and are charging highly inflated arrangement fees and implementing what are viewed as extremely high overdraft rates.

Dr Hughes added: "What a number of companies have experienced recently is that bank officials are also perceived as interfering with the running of businesses. Even companies with strong order books and a reasonable cash situation are being asked for written summaries on business practices, future plans and other operational issues which are totally inappropriate. Anyone with half a brain will appreciate that in the current economic climate when work and orders are at a premium the last thing that an engineering manufacturing company executive wants to have to do is spend precious time completing unnecessary paperwork.

"Our industry has been reassured so often by politicians and by financial institutions that the banks, which we recently bailed out you will remember, would be more than willing and able to loosen their purse strings so that funding would be available to help Scotland's businesses. I am hearing from company executives who are working their socks off that this just isn't happening.

"Member companies are reporting that the Clydesdale and HSBC appear to be more reponsive to their customers' needs."

Recent Government figures have reported that our manufacturing engineering sector has seen a significant reduction in exports during the latter part of 2009 and to compete in the world marketplace we need all the support we can get from government agencies and banks.