Alistair Darling has stated that banks must go further to help businesses by stepping up their lending.
Speaking yesterday, the chancellor told the Treasury select committee that a government guarantee for loans to companies may be implemented to make the market more liquid.
Today (December 11th), Mr Darling and business secretary Lord Mandelson will meet with some of the UK's biggest banks in a bid to see what can be done to help small businesses.
"Banks have to understand we put very substantial sums of public money in to support them, and they in turn have to play their part. They have to go very much further in terms of supporting companies and individuals," he stated.
Last week, HSBC pledged to make an extra £1 billion worth of funding available to small businesses, a 20 per cent increase on last year.
Commenting on the move, the bank's UK managing director Paul Thurston said HSBC has already lent more to businesses this year than last and the extra £1 billion will highlight its commitment.
