THE global financial crisis is far from over for small businesses, according to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Research by the bank shows 40 per cent of small businesses in Australia say they are still finding trading conditions tough.
Four out of five businesses surveyed by CBA said business levels were yet to return to pre-GFC levels.
CBA executive general manager of local business banking, Symon Brewis-Weston, said the responses from small business owners disproved any notion that Australia had managed to escape the financial crisis.
“Many economic commentators have suggested that the worst of the global financial crisis is behind us here in Australia, but that doesn't appear to be the case for our small businesses, which are still feeling the impact of the GFC,” he said.
The major banks previously reported the growth in numbers of new impaired loans had been slowing, but the majority of new impaired loans were coming from small- and medium-sized businesses.
During their financial result-reporting period in April, the big banks forecast business confidence to return over the coming months.
