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IEA response to Ed Miliband's speech on banking reform
Commenting on Ed Miliband’s speech on banking reform, Mark Littlewood, Director General at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:
“If our banking sector is to return to good health, increased certainty in the rules and regulations affecting banks is crucial. This sort of headline-grabbing, political intervention by Ed Miliband is very unhelpful.
“We shouldn’t be preventing the best performing firms from expanding. Instead, we need to lower the barriers to entry to make it easier for new providers to compete in the banking market.
“Big banks might be expected to offer fewer good deals to customers as they approached their maximum threshold, which will in turn reduce the incentive for smaller providers to offer innovative and attractive new deals. High street lenders may also start to close down their least used branches, restricting choice and access for ordinary people.”
Notes to editors:
To arrange an interview with an IEA spokesperson please contact Stephanie Lis, Head of Communications: 0207 799 8909 or 07766 221 268.
The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.
The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.
“If our banking sector is to return to good health, increased certainty in the rules and regulations affecting banks is crucial. This sort of headline-grabbing, political intervention by Ed Miliband is very unhelpful.
“We shouldn’t be preventing the best performing firms from expanding. Instead, we need to lower the barriers to entry to make it easier for new providers to compete in the banking market.
“Big banks might be expected to offer fewer good deals to customers as they approached their maximum threshold, which will in turn reduce the incentive for smaller providers to offer innovative and attractive new deals. High street lenders may also start to close down their least used branches, restricting choice and access for ordinary people.”
Notes to editors:
To arrange an interview with an IEA spokesperson please contact Stephanie Lis, Head of Communications: 0207 799 8909 or 07766 221 268.
The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.
The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.
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