Banking becomes transparent with lending report

The idea to make a public report about lending may help improve both banking and other businesses.

08:55 28 July 2013

The reality of bank lending is about to become much more clear for citizens. The major UK banks will be disclosing their lending figures from January in the hopes of creating more interest in banking competition as well as greater interest from the public.

 

The report should allow smaller institutions to specialise in areas that aren’t adequately covered by the larger banks. The report would also be beneficial to the public since it should show banks that are more willing to lend to consumers.

 

Here are a few things that consumers might see as a result of the publication of this report:

 

• Competitive rates—the publication of the numbers from the report may improve competition among both small and larger banks so that ultimately the consumer benefits from reduced interest rates on loans and higher interest rates on savings. The increased attention to the banking industry may also generate more business for the banks, so it could be a mutually beneficial situation. 

 

• Lending programmes—in an effort to offer the types of loans that people desire and which will help stimulate the economy, there may be more programmes to help small and medium business owners obtain loans. Additionally, there may also be banking changes to allow more loans for those needing housing.

 

• More development—if the report does what is intended, it should stimulate more growth and spending for the local economy. This could have a ripple effect, creating more employment opportunities, which in turn allow more money to be pumped into the economy. Banking loans could mean more housing opportunities to reduce the housing shortages in certain areas, as well as greater development in the business sector. 

 

• Greater affordability—the ultimate payoff for consumers with the publication of this report is that any banking product may be more affordable. This will only happen if banks begin to compete with each other to acquire customers.