Banks block £1bn small business lifeline
Banking giants reportedly shied away from the lifeline to bedrock of the UK economy
Investment banks irked by the Government’s attacks on City bonuses are
holding up a £1bn fund for small business, according
to
The Times.
Gordon Brown unveiled plans at the Labour conference in September for a
National Investment Corporation to prop up small businesses struggling to obtain
lending from commercial banks.
It was meant to have £1bn of funds to invest in its growth fund, £200m of
which was to come from eight overseas investment banks operating in the City,
said to include Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Each was to have
contributed £25m.
But after leaks of the windfall tax on City bonuses began appearing in the
press before the PBR was announced, the banking giants reportedly shied away
from the arrangement.