George Eustice MP welcomed the opportunity to question the Prime Minister today as to the action the Government are taking to curtail the sharp practices of banks and their appointed receivers towards struggling small businesses.
He asked “Many members of this house will have encountered examples of banks threatening small businesses with receivership in order to extract new charges and higher interest rates from their business customers. Does the PM agree with me that it is wrong for banks to use what is effectively an extortionate bargaining position in this way and would he be prepared to meet me to discuss some of the proposals that I have outlined in this area to place limits on the powers of receivers and to require banks to gain a possession order before selling up small businesses.”
In his response, the Prime Minister said "It is absolutely vital that we get our banks lending to small businesses as well as behaving ethically towards them. I am very happy to meet with my honourable friend, but let me outline what we are doing to tackle this problem. We are adressing the first issue of lending through measures such as the credit easing announced last week, but it is also important that banks are fair and seen to be fair. They have an interest in making sure small businesses are in good health."