Breakfast Meeting with the Liberal Democrats

Published : May 01, 2009

Cable has, of course, been widely praised as a politician who seems to understand at least some of the economics behind the credit crunch and subsequent recession. Scathing in his criticisms of the budget, he was erudite but remorselessly downbeat about the public finances. To an audience drawn heavily from the Financial Services sector he didn’t spare the banks – making it clear that no one of any political shade has an appetite for a return to the light touch regulation of the recent past.

On behalf of MTA members I pressed him on the availability of finance. He agreed with what many in industry have said; that the Government does not seem to have extracted a high enough price, in terms of making lending available and affordable to business, for the banking bailout. Afterwards representatives of two major banks sought me out to ask for examples of businesses with sound proposals which have been turned down. The Director General and I heard the same request the following day, in conversation with the BERR and Treasury Minister, Ian Pearson MP.

If you have recently experienced difficulties in securing finance as a result of the credit crunch, please contact either myself of Graham Dewhurst so that we can feed back what is going on ‘on the ground’. Likewise if you have recently secured finance under schemes such as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, we would like to hear from you too; so that we can better understand how these schemes can be put to work for all of us in the sector. Any conversations will of course be completely confidential.

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