Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Stewart Hosie (Scottish National Party). It was answered on Tuesday, 24 January 2012 on behalf of the Treasury.

Bank Lending

Question: It is not only the cost and availability of bank lending that is the problem; it is what the nationalised banks are doing with that debt. They are selling it to private equity firms for discounts of 40% to 50%, which reflects a net loss to the taxpayer-shareholder and fundamentally changes the relationship between the business and the bank. Let me ask the Minister, first, whether he is aware of that; and, more importantly, whether he has any information that would tell him that equity funds have had access to bank records on individual companies that would allow them to cherry-pick the assets they are buying.

Answer: As the hon. Gentleman will know, the responsibility for commercial decisions is a matter for the management of RBS and Lloyds. He has flagged up a concern, and if he brings forward details of those matters, I will raise them with the chief executives concerned.

Secondary information