Government must get banks lending (Dumbarton Liberal Democrats)

Dumbarton Liberal Democrats <anisbet@aniscon.com>

Government must get banks lending

January 20, 2009 12:00 AM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat Finance spokesperson Jeremy Purvis MSP has demanded that the Scottish Government urgently reconvene its Financial Service Advisory Board (FiSAB) to help encourage Scottish banks to start lending again.

The Scottish Chamber of Commerce (SCC) has today (Tuesday) released its Business Survey results for the fourth quarter of 2008. The survey underlines the deteriorating state of the Scottish economy across all sectors and calls for the re-establishment of lines of credit to be the first priority of the Government and banking sector.

Commenting, Mr Purvis said:

"This is a serious warning from the Scottish Chamber of Commerce. The Scottish Government must act on their recommendations immediately.

"So far, all the Finance Secretary has done to encourage banks to start lending is write one letter urging banks to tap into European funding. There is a great deal more scope for Ministers to be proactive and encourage Scotland's banks to start lending again.

"Given the economic downturn, it is simply unacceptable that the Government's Financial Sector Advisory Board last met four months ago. This hardly constitutes proactive action from Scottish Ministers.

"Liberal Democrats want to see the FiSAB reconvened urgently so that the Government can take expert advice on how to get banks lending again."