Small Businesses List Banking Inquiry Hopes


When the Competition Commission started its inquiry into small business banking 19 months ago, the arguments seemed obvious.

The big four banks controlled 80% of all business current accounts and, according to a Treasury sponsored review by Don Cruickshank, now chairman of the London Stock Exchange, were making "excess profits" of up to Ј1.5bn a year as a result of this near-monopoly.

This week, the commission is due to hand to ministers its final report. Its provisional findings, published this spring, warned that it could recommend that costs for small business banking could be regulated and that a windfall tax might even be levied.

The big four - Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and the Royal Bank of Scotland - however, believe new taxes are unlikely. Small businesses are against a windfall levy, which they fear would be passed on to them through even higher bank charges.



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