Government scheme could lead to irresponsible lending
13/08/10 | 16:19
Barclays’ head of small businesses has refused to join any government scheme that sets targets for lending to small firms.
Despite fears that lack of credit is jeopardising the economic recovery, Steve Cooper announced he would not comply with lending targets because he believed that such a programme could lead to irresponsible lending.
He told the Financial Times: “I’m not going to sign up to a target. I don’t want to create an expectation that if Barclays said no yesterday it could say yes tomorrow because it has a target to achieve.”
Dr Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), expressed concerns that companies were finding it more difficult to access credit. However, he said: “Demand for finance is still incredibly low, so any move to force the banks to lend now could mean a return to some of the risky practices that got them in trouble in the first place.
“We will continue to stand up for businesses that encounter problems with the major UK banks, but we’ll also point out where they have responded helpfully to small business concerns.”
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