Our greedy bankers up to no good

MORE than two weeks ago, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced an unparalleled level of funding that banks would make available to businesses to tide them over in these grim times.

That might have been the intention. But the reality is starkly at odds with that.

An accountancy network announced this week that about 20% of our small and medium-sized firms – typically with fewer than 250 staff – are perilously close to collapse.

These firms account for 60% of all people employed in the private sector and are the lifeblood of the nation.

That the banks are failing to pass on the money earmarked for them is nothing short of a scandal.

A little over a decade ago, we bailed out the banks and have still not had all our money back.

There are reports of banks charging high interest on loans and trying to shift desperate customers towards more expensive products.

They need to remember that a little humility and help now will go a long way in the future.