Injin Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/busi...icle6854571.ece Britain’s big banks insist the weakness in business lending is due more to a lack of demand than a lack of supply. Companies insist the opposite. In his speech to the Labour Party conference yesterday, Gordon Brown announced a plan that may help to establish who is right. The Prime Minister said the Government would set up a National Investment Corporation to provide funding for small and medium-sized businesses.The idea has been kicking around Whitehall for some months and has received strong backing from Richard Lambert, the CBI chief. Nobody had expected the Prime Minister to give it the go-ahead just yet. But it seems that Chris Rowlands, the former head of 3i Asia, who has been conducting a review for the Government, has identified a gap in the market. The model for the new body is the Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation — the state-supported but privately run fund set up in 1945 that eventually became 3i. The ICFC provided both equity and long-term debt to companies too small to gain access to the capital markets. Whatever the banks say, there does seem to be a problem at the moment for businesses that cannot get bank finance but are not big enough to take advantage of the buoyant share and bond markets. Some private equity executives have expressed concern that the new fund might cherry-pick the best investments, squeeze them out and not provide any net increase in funding. But a well-designed scheme should avoid that. Among the business figures at Brighton yesterday, there was rather more nervousness about the escalating rhetoric on bankers’ bonuses and the threat that paying inappropriate bonuses could lead to disqualification as a director. The concerns were not among bankers but among executives from other types of company. The fear is there will be “contagion†from the banks and that other businesses, such as insurers, could find themselves caught in the net. It is worth remembering, though, that party conference rhetoric does not always translate into practice. Printy printy (conditions may apply.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
council dweller Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Another bank opens. The Post office becomes a bank. Tesco become a bank. Yes, this has got to be the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XswampyX Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Can I become a bank? I have on deposit, more money than the government of Great Britain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReggiePerrin Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Can I become a bank? I have on deposit, more money than the government of Great Britain. A beggar on the streets of downtown Mumbai has more money than our Government Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil D Possitt Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Everyone should have a bank. A jolly good bank now and again never did anyone any harm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I heard you can download the notes and print them in the bedroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinzano Bianco Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Everyone should have a bank.A jolly good bank now and again never did anyone any harm. Impaired vision? Calluses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_ichikawa Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I heard you can download the notes and print them in the bedroom. Thats not that far off from the truth in that I recall in the past you could buy postal orders but if it was a quirky amount say £17.50 you'd buy a £15 a £2 and stick 50p worth in stamps in the package also , as the post office would exchange small quantities of stamps for money. For a long time now you've been able to print stamps , defacto printing money at home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyOne Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Can I become a bank? I have on deposit, more money than the government of Great Britain. I know that you were joking but this is actually a critical point. Apart from the ability to print money and raise taxes, many of Her Majesty's subjects are in a much better fiscal position than Her Majesty's government. I suspect that HM's government will address this imbalance by stealing wealth from HM's subjects. I hope that HM understands how much this angers her subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 "All in all your just aonther BANK in the Wall" Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enrieb Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 A beggar on the streets of downtown Mumbai has more money than our Government I like the sound of this beggar, can we persuade him to take over as PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyOne Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 "All in all your just aonther BANK in the Wall" Mike To take further license, "all in all, you are just another bank to the wall" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayo Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/busi...icle6854571.ecePrinty printy (conditions may apply.) Will Hutton advocated something very similar in one of his books someyears ago. British banks tend to fund businesses through overdrafts which are too insecure and expensive for their needs. When the going gets tough, the overdrafts get called in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/busi...icle6854571.ecePrinty printy (conditions may apply.) More socialist claptrap. However bad banks are, you can be pretty sure civil servants will be worse. And that's even if you discount raw pork-barrel corruption, which is what we'll really get a lot more of. If small business needs more money, then make it more attractive to invest in them! Maybe revert the VCT rules back to pre-2006 and up the allownaces. ObTopic: oh, and take the tax breaks away from property speculators, so less money gets soaked up unproductively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest P-Diddly Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/busi...icle6854571.ecePrinty printy (conditions may apply.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daddy Bear Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonpo Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 the national SPENDING corporation !!!! INVESTMENT = euthanism for spending Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spivT Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 many of Her Majesty's subjects are in a much better fiscal position than Her Majesty's government. your kidding right. this investment corp or whatever mooted by the govt. only obfuscates the reality that they are already providing the funds for all sorts of cherry picked companies and individuals. Everytime the govt. sector buys goods and services from the private sector it's investing in small and medium sized businesses. I suppose what's different with this scheme is it addresses the issue of 'working capital' for businesses. Now they'll be loaning them the funds in a less roundabout way than having a private sector banking sector in the middle in addition to paying them for the goods and services they'll buy thus forming a virtuous circle. All at gordons special rate of interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest P-Diddly Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daddy Bear Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Printy printy (conditions may apply.) First to spot a guide to exploiting this free money wins a prize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
council dweller Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 your kidding right.this investment corp or whatever mooted by the govt. only obfuscates the reality that they are already providing the funds for all sorts of cherry picked companies and individuals. Everytime the govt. sector buys goods and services from the private sector it's investing in small and medium sized businesses. I suppose what's different with this scheme is it addresses the issue of 'working capital' for businesses. Now they'll be loaning them the funds in a less roundabout way than having a private sector banking sector in the middle in addition to paying them for the goods and services they'll buy thus forming a virtuous circle. All at gordons special rate of interest. No time for Brown now before the election but the Tories may well pick it up and run with it. Feeding money to their friends is what Tories are all about, labour has set a new standard which they will surely pass pretty damn quick. "all goverments are really just businesses. Ultimately they become the only business" ~ quote from Alan watts btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.