Barclays slams small business lending targets

LONDON - The head of Barclays' small business unit has criticised the idea of industry-wide government targets for lending to small firms. Steve Cooper told the Financial Times that it could result in banks agreeing loans to meet targets rather than on the merits of applications.

The government is exploring the option of extending targets to all banks, not just ones in which it owns a stake. There are fears that insufficient bank lending is holding back recovery. 

The governor of the Bank of England this week described constrained lending as a "headwind" facing the UK economy.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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