Markets and Morality

Forcing banks to lend will be a huge error


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IEA press release responding to NICE recommendation for minimum alcohol price

Press Release

Mark Littlewood calls for 20% across the board spending cuts to reduce deficit

IEA responds to plans laid out by the Business Secretary

https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/upldrelease179pdf.pdf
Responding to the plans announced today by Vince Cable, Professor Philip Booth, Editorial and Programme Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

Forcing banks to lend will be a huge error

“Unsurprisingly banks are being cautious about lending after the recession as they need to rebuild their balance sheets.”

“If we want to see increased availability of capital for small businesses the best thing the government could do is to tell the FSA to stop binding banks up with more regulation and increased capital requirements.”

“Should the banks be cajoled into lending by the government and then those loans “go bad” the government will have no option but to bail them out again. This would be a catastrophe.”

Cable right to make cutting red tape a priority

“Vince Cable is right to make cutting red tape a priority early on. Allowing business to thrive and restoring Britain’s economic growth requires tax cuts and reductions in regulatory compliance costs. A report from the Institute of Economic Affairs shows the cost of tax compliance for business in the UK to be between £15 and £20 billion, amongst the highest in the world.”

Royal Mail capital plans don’t go far enough

“There is absolutely no good reason for the Royal Mail to not be fully privatised. It is absurd to think that there is something so unique about getting a piece of paper from one place to another that it requires state involvement.”

To arrange an interview with Philip Booth, IEA Editorial and Programme Director or Mark Littlewood, IEA Director General, please contact Stephanie Lis, Communications Manager, 077 5171 7781, 020 7799 8900, slis@iea.org.uk.



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