AIR SHOW: UK Cable: New Bank Lending Targets Still An Option

19th Jul 2010 14:34

FARNBOROUGH, England (Dow Jones)--U.K. Business Secretary Vince Cable confirmed Monday that the new government is considering imposing lending targets on the part nationalized banks from next year but said that is only one option available. In comments to Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of the Farnborough International Air Show, Cable said the current targets set by the previous government will remain in place for now for the part nationalized banks, including Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LLOY.LN) and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS). Asked if the government will impose new lending targets when the current targets expire, Cable said: "The chancellor and I are publishing a green paper on business finance later this week that will give some indications as to what the options are. That's only one of several ways that we can get banks lending to business, which is what we need." Asked if lending targets would be effective in raising the supply of credit to smaller firms, Cable replied, "it is one of the techniques." But he said he doesn't want to "prejudge how we go forward." Cable and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne sat down last week with bank chief executives to discuss issues around access to finance. Cable's Liberal Democrat Party, which is the junior coalition partner in the new government, had made small business lending one of the key themes of its election campaign ahead of the May 6 national vote. -By Jonathan Buck and Laurence Norman; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 19, 2010 09:34 ET (13:34 GMT)