| Updated:
£500m of credit easing launched
The Treasury today announced another £500m of government funds will be made available for SMEs to borrow, in an effort to ease the pressure on businesses that are struggling to get past banks’ tough new lending criteria. The government is seeking bids from fund managers who will allocate £400m to medium-sized firms, which will receive the credit on a “commercial” basis. The additional £100m will be loaned to small firms by the department for business, innovation and skills through “non-traditional” channels like peer-to-peer networks. “These proposals are part of our credit easing programme, passing on the benefits of Britain’s creditworthiness to firms,” said chancellor George Osborne.