Cable: Banks to face higher financial penalties on lending

He said they would be heading for a "train crash" if they award large bonuses while small businesses struggle to get credit, the Telegraph reports. Cable suggested the Government could take tougher steps - including an increase in the banking levy imposed on the larger banks in the budget, which is due to raise £8bn over the next five years. Asked at a fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrat conference what he could do to boost lending rates, Cable said: "We spelt out that there were what we called sticks and carrots. "One of the sticks is in relation to tax measures. It remains an ...