RBS chief Ross McEwan pledges to give £35,000 loans to small businesses in just THREE minutes from the bank’s £4billion post-Brexit fund

A BANK boss wants to help millions of small businesses post-Brexit with quick-fire online loans of up to £35,000.

Ross McEwan, of ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND, will make £4billion available to existing customers.

Everyone from start-ups to white van men and florists can apply in as little as three minutes, against up to a month in the past.

If approved, they will receive funds instantly. The process, to start in the summer, will take just seven clicks.

RBS, which owns NATWEST and is the UK’s biggest lender to small firms, says its new platform is much faster than those of rivals. Chief executive Mr McEwan told Sun City: “It is a very quick, safe process.

“Technology makes it easier for us to respond far faster to a customer’s cash requirement.

“Previously it could take two to four weeks to arrange an unsecured business loan.

“Now we have so much data about existing clients we can let them go online and do a lot of the activity themselves.

“Following trials over the last few weeks or so we are launching the process out to our customer base. We find they love the ability to do it themselves.”

He said funds will at first take 24 hours to reach clients because of extra checks — but from later this year the process will be automatic and the payments “instantaneous”.

Mr McEwan insisted RBS will ensure it is making “good, safe loans as best we can”, adding: “We shouldn’t lend to people who can’t repay.” He said systems were now “much safer” than pre-2008, when banks generally loaned too easily.

The loan scheme could be rolled out to bigger firms in the next 12 months, with funding of up £100,000, he added.

“It will be the same concept, using fast approval,” he said. “We’re part of the UK economy and want to help customers.”