Barclays Calls for Government Reforms to Support UK Exporters
Barclays is demanding targeted reforms from the Labour Party government to assist customers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, in unlocking global export opportunities. The bank, which operates branches in Birmingham, has published new policy recommendations urging the UK government to take further action to support the nation's exporters, with a focus on smaller businesses.
Analysis Based on Proprietary Data and Expertise
The analysis draws on Barclays' proprietary data covering current and potential future exporters, alongside the bank's in-house expertise and long-standing experience supporting UK firms trading internationally. This work comes at a critical time when UK export performance faces significant pressure. Between 2019 and 2025, UK goods exports fell by 12%, even as the world's exports grew by more than 7% over the same period.
The decline has been especially severe among smaller firms: the number of UK SME goods exporters dropped by 19%, representing 23,000 fewer companies, between 2020 and 2023. This leaves the UK as a notable outlier compared with most OECD economies, where SME exporter participation has risen.
Strengthening Export Finance Framework
Against this backdrop, Barclays' analysis highlights that strengthening the UK's export finance framework could help unlock more growth. The bank notes that UK Export Finance, the UK's export credit agency, has generated positive financial returns for the government in recent years, returning £634 million to the Exchequer over the past five financial years.
Over the same period, premium income has averaged 208% above actual losses, which is above HM Treasury's requirement for UKEF to maintain a 35% premium margin over expected losses. This indicates that there may be scope for targeted policy enhancements that maintain prudence while enabling greater support for smaller exporters.
Executive and Industry Support
James Binns, Vice Chair of Global Transaction Banking at Barclays, said: "Barclays is deeply committed to supporting UK businesses as they sell to markets around the world. As the UK looks to strengthen its export performance, now is the right moment to explore how government can make targeted, practical adjustments that would help UK companies, especially SMEs, access export opportunities, while continuing to safeguard taxpayers' interests."
Binns added that UKEF is one of the world's most active export credit agencies and already plays a vital role, but these recommendations aim to ensure tools are used to their fullest potential to help more small businesses enter global markets.
Marcus Dolman, Honorary Vice President of the British Exporters Association, said: "The UK has a long and successful history as an exporting nation. The recent trends of reduced trade growth compared to our peers is deeply concerning. BExA welcomes this timely report from Barclays setting out the important role UKEF has to play in reversing this trend."
Dolman noted that although UKEF is already a leading export credit agency, there is always room for improvement, and the report's conclusions align with BExA's own findings through UKEF benchmarking work.
