Wheels spinning, going nowhere: What's keeping British banks from supporting economic growth?

Article

IPPR trustees David Claydon and Clive Hollick argue that the big banks really are in much better shape now, and that it is inconsistent and unpredictable regulation that is inhibiting their ability to support economic growth.

Claydon and Hollick challenge the 'rhetoric of risk', which demands that the banking sector pursues ever-more conservative trading conditions and results in counterproductive moves by the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee. In the authors' words, banks are like patients who have been rehabilitated but are still required to behave like they're ill. The outcome is that they are unable to play a full role in lending to support economic growth, punishing the valuable SMEs sector and creating social problems around housing and personal finance.

Related items

  1. A mother and child from behind looking out of a window

    Restoring security: Understanding the effects of removing the two-child limit across the UK

    The government’s decision to lift the two-child limit marks one of the most significant changes to the social security system in a decade.
  2. A group of healthcare professionals sitting in a staff common room in a hospital in Newcastle

    Building a healthier, wealthier Britain: Launching the IPPR Centre for Health and Prosperity

    Following the success of our Commission on Health and Prosperity, IPPR is excited to launch the Centre for Health and Prosperity.
  3. The Home Office building in London

    A ‘paradigm shift’ in asylum and immigration policy?

    In 2019, a package of asylum reforms known as the ‘paradigm shift’ was passed by a broad party consensus in the Danish parliament.