28 July 2009, 18:25  UK, Darling: Banks should to lend more

Chancellor Alistair Darling has urged banks to lend more to small firms, during a meeting with banking bosses. In its latest figures, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said total lending to small companies rose ?391m in June, up from May's ?133m increase. But Alistair Darling has said he is "extremely concerned" that banks may be charging firms too much for loans. The BBA's chief executive Angela Knight has denied this is the case. However, BBC business correspondent Nils Blythe said that the BBA's statistics had been "misleading" and that lending to non-financial businesses had fallen last month, while the overall lending trend was "emphatically downwards". Speaking to the BBC, Mr Darling said: "We need to get to the bottom of what is happening with individual banks, to see if loans are being made available and to check that [banks] are not charging more than is justified." Assessing banks should help ensure there is proper competition, he said, adding that oversight of banks was crucial so that both firms and individuals got the best possible deals.

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