Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:45 pm on 18 July 2017.
Can I thank the Member for his question? Again, I agree entirely, it can’t just be a brass plaque on a building in Wrexham, it must have a fully-functioning operation there, with senior managers, and this point has been made repeatedly to Finance Wales and it will be reflected in August, when the location strategy is published. I’ve been assured that there will be senior management there and that board meetings will also be held at the headquarters. I think it’s absolutely essential that all parts of Wales are given good, smooth, easy access to the support and facilities of the development bank, and the headquarters will be a key component of that, but, in addition, as I’ve already said, I think it’s important that we look at other ways of enabling customers to access the development bank support, and that could be through co-location with Welsh Government or Business Wales support units.
In terms of venture capital funds, this is a really interesting area of work, but I can say to the Member—and it was an interesting quote from his colleague in the City—when we sought competitive bids from fund management services there were actually instances where there were no other bidders except for Finance Wales. Now, the development bank of Wales business case states that investment management and support services for Welsh Government would be agreed on a case-by-case basis, depending on individual project requirements. So, this piece of work is ongoing. We will be able to review it.
And in terms of the question of borrowing, there are many queries that we have examined, many considerations that we’ve looked into—considered whether loan guarantees that are being offered through the Scottish growth fund and export guarantees could be opened up, crucial for post-Brexit Wales. We’ve looked at whether there’s an ability for the development bank to develop fractional-reserve banking, to become a deposit-taking institution. But, as I’ve said, the options for the bank are open and will be based on regular evaluations, annual remit letters, and, crucially, the work of the intelligence unit, which, as I said earlier, will examine exactly what those barriers are that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises face and how we can address them.