The research, which questioned 794 SMEs on their attitudes to taking out loans, has shown that a third of SMEs do not plan to apply for a loan, even though 64% of SMEs’ turnover  would increase, which in turn could create nearly 200,000 jobs over the next four years.

Barclays has become the first UK bank to make loans and overdrafts instantly available for SMEs through its Mobile Banking app, reducing the amount of time it takes to get a loan from weeks to under an hour.

Removing the common assumption that banks do not want to lend by making loans and overdrafts available instantly on smartphones could deliver an economic boost of 106 new jobs per day.

Ian Rand, CEO of business banking at Barclays, said: ‘We recognise that some businesses are cautious about applying for a loan, whilst many more simply do not have the time.

‘Our new, pre-assessed lending gives customers the ability to see how much they could borrow on their mobile and we can get that money to them more quickly than ever so they can invest in and focus on running their businesses.’

Brexit is also having an effect on SMEs with one in five believing that it will impact their current or future funding requirements. This is due to a need to start exporting to non-EU markets, economic uncertainty and replacing employees who are EU citizens.

A quarter (24%) of SMEs also believe that due to Brexit increasing economic uncertainty it will be harder to secure a loan in 2017.

Rand said: ‘Since the EU Referendum our appetite for lending has not diminished and we continue to lend to an SME in the UK every four minutes.

‘We want to help SMEs be confident in their future business plans, including looking at new opportunities to export. We are particularly determined to reach out to those businesses who believe lending will be more difficult next year to see where we can help.’