The top High Street banks will be ‘named and shamed’ if they fail to increase lending to small and medium-sized businesses through the Government’s flagship Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme. New Business Minister Michael Fallon has this weekend written to the bosses of the ‘Big Five’ banks – Barclays, RBS, Lloyds, HSBC and Santander – demanding to know why lending through the scheme is falling and ‘putting them on notice’ over their continued failure to advance money to smaller firms. Fallon is furious that finance for smaller firms is still falling despite the Government’s attempts to increase the availability of finance to businesses. He told Financial Mail that High Street banks had until Christmas substantially to increase the take-up of lending through the scheme. Those that failed to do so risked being outed in a league table exposing the worst offenders.....Read more here: Bank chiefs quizzed on failure of credit lifeline for small firms