Funding for Lending Scheme: one year on

It has been just over a year since the Government introduced the £80bn Funding for Lending Scheme designed to allow banks and building societies to access cheap funds from the Bank of England. The scheme has been widely praised for helping to bring about record low mortgage rates. However, it has been criticised for the banks' lack of lending to small businesses and the negative effect it has had on savings rates. Aaron Strutt, product manager at Trinity Financial, says: “The Funding for Lending Scheme has made a huge difference to mortgage rates and they continue to get lower.” August 2, 2013