Treasury to tell banks to increase competition in lending to SMEs

The call will come alongside the publication this week of a survey commissioned by Chancellor George Osborne into the treatment of SMEs, the Daily Mail reports. Compiled by the British Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses, it will rank the different banks on how they treat smaller companies which come to them for a loan. Lloyds Banking Group and Santander are thought to have come out well in the study. But all eyes will be on 81% taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, which has been the subject of two scathing reviews into its lending practices. The Treasu...