I enjoyed a very pleasant lunch last week with a heavyweight industry insider. Neither a lender nor a broker, he’s nevertheless well-connected and informed. Tellingly, he takes a macro view of the market, particularly as it affects the lending sector and the role of intermediaries within it.

One interesting snippet my lunching companion shared with me concerns the high street banks. Much maligned of late – often with good reason – he revealed he has had numerous recent conversations regarding their lending to business in general, and to small- and medium- size enterprises (SMEs) in particular.

Nothing new in that, you might think, but what made the conversations different was that the banks were doing the complaining – not about their treatment at the hands of politicians and a still-angry public, but about the fact nobody wants to borrow their money. Perceived as a man of influence, surely my friend could help?

That the banks have the money to lend is not in question. They have been busy shoring up their balance sheets and capital reserves, and have effectively hoarded cash these past few years. A substantial programme of Quantitative Easing (QE) has also benefited them close to £400 billion of cheap money courtesy of the Bank of England.

What has been in doubt is their willingness to share some of this largesse with their customers. Categorically denying any conspiracy, the bankers argue their hands have been tied by the politicians, the banking authorities and the regulators. But the corner has been turned, they now say, and they’re ready once more to start writing cheques.

That they want to boost their lending is not in doubt. QE looks to have run its course and the balance sheets are back in shape. Banks exist to make money. The simplest way to do so is by taking in deposits at a certain price and lending them back out at a higher one. The trick, as the estimable Captain Mainwaring would have known only too well, is to make sure you get the money back on time and in full. Had the modern crop of banker boys remembered this, they wouldn’t now be the figures of public revulsion they are.

What remains in doubt is the extent to which the banks want to resume lending. My industry insider told me they are only interested in doing business with ‘trading concerns’. What he meant by this is that if you cannot produce two or three years’ worth of audited accounts verifying a solvent trading position, don’t bother beating a path to your bank manager’s door. New start business or had a few problems in the past? Forget it, chum – you’re not wanted.

So while we will see more positive activity from the banks in the future, I do not believe it represents a serious challenge to the niche area of bridging. The specialist lenders who have kept liquidity flowing these past five years exhibit a flexible and realistic attitude to risk that the big lenders simply cannot match. They have also refined their processes to deliver a more certain and speedier customer experience. The banks may have the financial and pricing clout, but their appetite for lending remains their Achilles' Heel.

The coming month of June presents a great opportunity for all of us involved in bridging to display our wares and talk about what we do best. On the 20th, we come together at the 5th Bridging & Commercial Awards to celebrate excellence and achievement. On the 26th, we travel to Birmingham for the annual NACFB Commercial Expo, one the industry’s most enduring and successful events.

Let’s use both occasions to remind the bankers that the landscape they vacated so hurriedly in 2008 is not a wasteland simply waiting for their return. We’ve kept it fertile, and I for one don’t fancy stepping aside to make way for the people who got it so very, very wrong not so very, very long ago.