On 28 November 2014 Charles Thorburn looked back over the six-quarter sample beginning in Q1 2013. His review of the early CreditSquare indices explained how a falling demand score could still signal increasing appetite for loans.
Three sources of evidence
Each composite gave approximately one third of its weight to each of three groups. Quantitative observations included market rates and borrowing volumes. Lender surveys drew heavily on the Bank of England’s panel. Borrower surveys drew on businesses’ responses in the SME Finance Monitor. The individual components had different starting dates, which limited direct comparisons over longer periods.
Why a falling score could mean demand still increased
The review gave demand readings of 63.1 in Q1 2014 and 56.0 in Q2. Each was above 50, so both signalled an increase from the preceding quarter. The second reading suggested a weaker increase. It could not tell a reader the absolute demand for loans or the amount a bank would advance to a particular firm.
The Q2 launch figures provide the corresponding supply reading. For the composite scores in the following period, read the Q3 2014 release.
Sources and further reading
- Historical CreditSquare page (Wayback Machine) — checked 2026-11-08