Bailed out banks pledge to lend £100bn - papers

The commitment, which will be unveiled with the Budget tomorrow, is an attempt by the banks and the Treasury to appease public anger that lenders bailed out by taxpayers have not helped small businesses through the economic downturn, writes the Times. However, the agreement will trigger a fresh political row, reigniting accusations that both RBS and Lloyds have failed to meet their lending targets to business in 2009. Full story...