Osborne launches small business loan scheme
Chancellor George Osborne is today launching a scheme to get £20bn of extra lending to small businesses.
Under the National Loan Guarantee scheme, firms can benefit from bank loans at 1% less than those available in the wider market. So far Barclays, Santander, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland have all signed up.
Mr Osborne said: "The government promised to help small businesses get access to lower interest rates. Today we deliver on that promise with a nationwide scheme."
John Longworth, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the programme was "a step in the right direction". But the head of policy at the Federation of Small Businesses said the scheme was "not a game-change" because many firms still cannot access credit in the first place.