RBS lending pledge to small firms
Added (2008-Nov-23)
The Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain's second biggest bank, is to guarantee overdraft rates and contracts for its business customers for at least a year.
It is the first bank to promise not to withdraw its lending facilities in an effort to help its 1.1 million business customers survive the downturn.
The move has been welcomed by politicians and small businesses.
But there are fears the pledge may have come too late for many firms already suffering from rising borrowing costs.
'Businesses aggrieved'
RBS, which also owns NatWest, has been hit hard by the global financial crisis.
Earlier this week, its shareholders voted to accept a £20bn government bail-out of taxpayers' money.
The vote means the government could end up taking a stake of up to 60% in the troubled bank.
Reporter Joe Lynam said the fact that a bank was making a public pledge to honour agreed overdraft facilities was a measure of how badly the credit crunch had impacted on normal lending practices.
The Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain's second biggest bank, is to guarantee overdraft rates and contracts for its business customers for at least a year.
It is the first bank to promise not to withdraw its lending facilities in an effort to help its 1.1 million business customers survive the downturn.
The move has been welcomed by politicians and small businesses.
But there are fears the pledge may have come too late for many firms already suffering from rising borrowing costs.
'Businesses aggrieved'
RBS, which also owns NatWest, has been hit hard by the global financial crisis.
Earlier this week, its shareholders voted to accept a £20bn government bail-out of taxpayers' money.
The vote means the government could end up taking a stake of up to 60% in the troubled bank.
Reporter Joe Lynam said the fact that a bank was making a public pledge to honour agreed overdraft facilities was a measure of how badly the credit crunch had impacted on normal lending practices.
