LONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator istalking to 25 potential new banks as part of moves to increasecompetition within the sector, the country's economic secretarysaid on Tuesday.
Lawmakers and regulators are keen to see challengers appearto break the dominance of Britain's biggest four banks - LloydsBanking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSBC - which account for more thanthree-quarters of lending to individuals and small businesses.
"We are trying to make sure that it is much easier to set upa new bank and to grow market share. Reforms should be as muchabout competition as safety and stability," Andrea Leadsom,economic secretary to the Treasury, said at a conferenceorganised by the British Bankers' Association. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Steve Slater)