Labour and Banks Plan House-Building Funds

Labour is working with the five major high-street banks on proposals to kick-start a house-building boom with the help of government loan guarantees for builders. Chris Leslie, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and Housing spokesperson Emma Reynolds met representatives of HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland last week to hammer out proposals. Labour wants a “help to build” scheme if it wins the general election next year, a policy that would involve government underwriting bank loans to small house-builders with a turnover of up to around £20m a year. These smaller firms have struggled to secure loans as the banks have become more cautious with their money since the onset of the financial crisis. Read more on the Independent website.