Cathy Jamieson MP, Labour’s Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on the Office of Fair Trading’s update on competition in banking services for small businesses, said:

“The OFT analysis shows that there is a lack of competition in our banking system and that small and medium-sized businesses are being let down. We need to reform our banking system so that businesses can get the funding they need and we can earn our way out of the cost-of-living crisis.

“As the OFT study finds, the four largest banks control over 80 per cent of the SME banking market in Great Britain and around 90 per cent in Northern Ireland. The Tory-led Government should stop dragging their feet and launch a full market investigation by the Competition & Markets Authority.

“A Labour government will ask the CMA to report on how to create at least two new sizeable and competitive banks to challenge the existing high street banks. We will bring in a threshold for the market share any one bank can have of personal accounts and small business lending to ensure no bank can get too big and that the market is competitive for the long term.”