This is an increase close to 7 per cent (over £200 million) on the same period in 2011.

HSBC Holdings plc (LON:HSBA) provided £3.1 billion of gross lending to UK Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the first three months of 2012, an increase close to 7 per cent (over £200 million) on the same period in 2011.

This announcement follows the bank’s earlier commitment to make at least £12 billion in total of lending available to SMEs during 2012 - surpassing what it lent in 2011.

HSBC’s International SME Fund is also proving attractive to businesses, with more than £1.3 billion of the total amount lent in the first quarter being borrowed by SMEs that trade or aspire to trade internationally.

The £4 billion fund was established after findings from HSBC’s ‘Global Connections’ trade forecast  predicted that over the next 15 years, the UK is set to increase its international business activity by around 60 per cent.

The International SME Fund provides specific support for UK businesses, with a turnover of up to £25 million who currently trade or aspire to trade internationally.

Jacques-Emmanuel Blanchet, Deputy Head of HSBC Commercial Banking Europe and Head of Commercial Banking UK, said: "We are on track to lend even more to UK SMEs in 2012 than we did in 2011 and are ahead of schedule to lend £4 billion to businesses who expand their activity internationally through the International SME Fund."