By Jill Fraser for Lending Central

For the first time since the start of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) small to medium businesses are starting to show signs of healthy improvement.

This week’s release of the NAB SME Quarterly Survey (September 2009) reveals that business conditions for SMEs (small to medium enterprises) have improved significantly, reaching positive territory for the first time since the GFC began in September 2008.

For the September quarter, large SMEs with an annual turnover between $5m - $10m recorded the strongest improvement and were the best performing at 6 index points, up from -13. Small
SMEs ($2 - $3M) recorded an improvement from -7 to 4 index points, with mid-sized SMEs ($3 - $5M) increasing from -6 to 3 index points.

The main driver of sales this quarter has been a sharp improvement in customer confidence/demand, and it represents the first positive outcome since September 2008. Positive impacts from seasonal and competitive factors have also helped.
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