Banks are still keen to provide leverage finance for private equity deals, a private equity fund manager said yesterday.A principal of Hawkesbridge Private Equity, Joshua Rowe, said banks had tightened up a little on the amount of leverage they were prepared to offer but there was no sign of banks walking away from deals or even imposing stricter covenants.Hawkesbridge, a five-year-old fund manager with $200 million in three private equity funds, yesterday announced that it has acquired Bulk Handling Australia.Rowe said Hawkesbridge invested in companies with an enterprise value of up to $60 million.ANZ Leveraged Finance provided the debt finance package for the purchase of BHA.Rowe said a year ago he might have been able to get funding at five times EBIT on a quality deal. Today that multiple is more likely to be four times.Rowe said: "At this end of the market, banks can provide debt finance for a private equity deal without having to syndicate. That makes it easier for them to agree to the deal."And it helps that the sorts of companies we are looking at have usually had a long-standing relationship with a bank.  If the bank is comfortable with the relationship it will have an appetite to continue funding after the change of ownership."There is more scrutiny of deals but we have not seen covenants changing. "Things have probably changed more at the top end of the market, where competition drove leverage out to some very big multiples."Rowe said he expected Hawkesbridge to do a couple more deals this year.