British lawmakers check on how banks are treating small businesses during pandemic

By Huw Jones

LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - Britain's top banks may face
action to make it easier for small businesses to open a bank
account, British lawmakers said on Tuesday, after companies
complained about lenders as they struggle during the COVID-19
pandemic.

Mel Stride, the chair of parliament's Treasury Select
Committee, said he has written to Natwest, Barclays, Metro Bank,
HSBC, Santander and Lloyds to ask if they have changed their
criteria for opening business accounts since the pandemic began.

Lawmakers want to know by May 19 whether waiting times for
opening an account have increased, how complaints are handled,
and whether lenders are planning to withdraw from the small
business market.

"It's critical that these institutions are adapting to the
requirements of small and medium sized enterprises as the
economy starts to pick up," Stride said in a statement.

"The Committee wants to know more about the state of the
business current account market, and whether action needs to be
taken to mitigate the difficulties faced by SMEs."

Martin McTague, national vice chair of the Federation of
Small Businesses, said in February that a situation where firms
are unable to open accounts is extremely damaging to the small
business community and the economy.

"The different actors in this space - government, lenders
and regulators - need to work together to provide a guaranteed
route through which businesses can open accounts," McTague said
at the time.
(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Jan Harvey)