To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the proposals on SME lending in the PRA Consultation CP 16/22 on the Implementation of the Basel 3.1 standards, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those proposals on meeting the PRA’s mandate to promote competition in the banking sector.
Answered on
27 March 2023
The Government is currently consulting on its proposals for Basel 3.1. This includes proposals for deleting retained EU law including those which relate to the prudential rules on SME lending. The detailed implementation of the Basel package however, has been delegated to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) as the UK’s expert regulator. The PRA is consulting under an accountability framework agreed by Parliament, and has requested information from firms on specific measures including those relating to lending to SMEs.
The consultation can be found here:
The Government continues to work closely with the PRA and businesses to understand the impact of potential changes including for the international competitiveness of the UK, the impact on SME lending and the nature of competition between banks that operate in the domestic market.