Clause 214
Banking Bill
9:00 am
Brooks Newmark (Whip, Whips; Braintree, Conservative)
I am curious about what the Minister is saying about the clause. Has there been any thinking as to the spread over the cost of Government capital when they make that sort of financial assistance? Is there a fix in mind? Have there been discussions about it? Will it be at the Government’s cost of capital—we are curious to know what that is—or will it be at a very large spread, as we have seen recently? The cost of capital loaning to the banks is something like 10 or 12 per cent., which seems extraordinarily high, given the Government’s cost of capital.