Re-banking the UK: How to create a diverse lending infrastructure

While some progress has been made, a significant missed opportunity under the coalition government has been the failure to carry out a more radical reform of the banking system. This remains a key area for action if we are to see the much needed rebalancing of Britain’s economy. This report from the New Weather Institute written by David Boyle (with help from Susan Kramer prior to her becoming a minister) sets out in clear terms some measures that can be taken to achieve that action.

What I find striking in this report is how it sees the creation of local banking structures across the UK as central to achieving greater diversity in the banking system:

it matters that just 3 per cent of banks are local in the UK, compared to 34 per cent in the USA, 33 per cent in Germany and 44 per cent in Japan.

As far as the Liberal Democrats are concerned there is still time to push for further reform from within Government, but I also hope that banking reform will be a prominent measure in the manifesto for the next election.