The debtor finance market marked time again during the 2013/14 financial year, with invoice discounting and factoring turnover up just 0.6 per cent over the 12 months. The Debtor and Invoice Finance Association reported that the sector's turnover for the 12 months to June was A$63.2 billion, compared with $62.8 billion in 2012/13. The market has scarcely moved since 2011/12, when turnover was $62.4 billion.June quarter turnover was $14.9 billion, compared with $15 billion in the March quarter and $16.7 billion in the December quarter.The bulk of the business in the June quarter ($13.6 billion) was invoice discounting, where the seller of the trade debts retains the accounting and debt collection functions.Factoring (where the finance company takes over the accounting and debt collection) accounted for $1.3 billion of turnover.The number of clients grew 0.6 per cent, year on year, to 4499.The traditional market for debtor finance is small but fast growing businesses that do not have sufficient equity or assets in their business to increase their bank funding. The sector reduced debt during the financial crisis and continues to shy away from borrowing.The chief executive of debtor finance company Scottish Pacific, Peter Langham, told Banking Day earlier this year that there was another factor at play in the market's flat performance. Langham said a number of the specialist debtor finance groups, including Scottish Pacific, Bibby and GE, were doing well. The flat overall performance of the sector was due, in part, to a decision by a couple of the big banks to cut back on their involvement in the sector."The banks moved into debtor finance about a decade ago but for a couple of them it did not suit their business models. "With debtor finance you are making an advance every day against a new invoice. To do that safely you have to do a lot of due diligence. The ratio of staff to clients is high."Since the GFC, ANZ and Commonwealth Bank have switched customers out of debtor finance into standard small business loans."