Banks face rising global 'crowdfunding' competition

More than five years after the financial crisis of 2008, small businesses in advanced economies are still struggling to secure credit from banks. The combination of this trend with the rapid growth in social networking has resulted in the emergence of a new funding stream -- 'crowdfunding'. Although this new form of non-bank lending is not seen as a threat to the traditional banking system, it does signify a serious alternative to traditional sources of finance for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).