"Labour to unveil plan for UK bank branch sell-off"

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"Labour to unveil plan for UK bank branch sell-off"

Postby dutchman » Fri Jan 17, 2014 12:15 am

Banks would be forced to sell branches to meet a new legal threshold restricting the size of high street lenders under Labour plans to be set out in detail by Ed Miliband on Friday.

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The Labour leader will use an economic speech to flesh out his plan to end the dominance of four banks, which control the lion’s share of mortgages, current accounts and small-business lending.

Mr Miliband will refuse to set a specific figure for the cap, saying this would be decided after a review by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched immediately after the election.

He will say that the policy will definitely lead to the divestment of large numbers of bank branches, to be completed within a five-year parliament.

Labour would also introduce a new maximum threshold for future market share that would automatically trigger another CMA investigation if breached.

Such a rule would have prevented Gordon Brown’s Labour government from encouraging Lloyds’ rescue of HBOS during the credit crunch.

In a wide-ranging speech about the economy, City short-termism, education and housebuilding, Mr Miliband will repeat his claim that the “cost of living crisis” is the biggest challenge faced by Britain.

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