UK-based Duncan Lawrie Private Bank has said that it will agree special terms on existing loan facilities to help female entrepreneurs keep their businesses running during maternity leave.

The special agreements mean that the private bank’s female clients have the opportunity to suspend interest payments on loans during their pregnancy and after giving birth. This is hoped to help ease the financial pressure on their business until they are back in a full-time capacity.

The bank’s clients can suspend interest payments for up to a year, but the interest will still accrue and be added to the total value of the loan, which can be repaid in stages over the following twelve months or together with original borrowing at the end of the term.

“We appreciate that pregnancy is a stressful enough time as it is, without being worried about a loan and keeping up with interest payments,” said Stephen Buckland, senior banking manager at the firm.

Maternity leave loans are only available for existing clients and where there is an existing facility Duncan Lawrie will not charge a fee for changing existing deals.

“There may also be times when male clients wish to alter their repayment arrangements and we would of course consider every case on its merits,” Buckland added. “This could apply for instance when a man might take time off to look after the baby when a female entrepreneur wanted to get straight back to her business.”

WealthBriefing recently reported that about 27 per cent of the world’s high net worth individuals are women and that female wealth was estimated to stand at $20 trillion globally in 2010. Some private banks are reaching out to female clients by adding more female relationship managers rather than offering tailor-made solutions which put gender front and centre and therefore risk being seen as somewhat reductive. To stem any advisor attrition associated with maternity (and indeed paternity) many firms are also working hard to help bankers who become parents, a subject this publication explored in a recent case study (click here to view).