Banks missed targets for lending to small businesses by £1 billion (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Banks missed targets for lending to small businesses by £1 billion

11:44am Monday 13th February 2012 in Business

The UK’s banks missed targets for lending to smaller businesses in 2011 by more than £1 billion, according to new figures. The five banks – Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, Barclays and HSBC – loaned £74.9 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2011, the British Bankers' Association said. They had agreed with the Government in the Project Merlin talks to make £76 billion available. However, the banks loaned £214.9 billion, exceeding the target by £190 billion.