The Secretary of State and the Chancellor have agreed a request by the Competition Commission for a four month extension to complete their report on the supply of banking services by clearing banks to small and medium-sized businesses. This will enable the Commission to consider further arguments and evidence from the banks.
The period for reporting on the monopoly reference has been extended from 19 June to 19 October 2001.
The Competition Commission were asked by the Secretary of State and the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20 March 2000 under section 51 of the Fair Trading Act 1973 to undertake a study of the market for the supply of banking services by clearing banks to small and medium sized businesses in the UK to identify any monopoly situation and to form a view as to whether any practices which exploit or maintain a monopoly, or are attributable to such a monopoly, operate against the public interest.
