G20 puts UK banks under lending pressure; Global levy dropped

UK banks could be under further pressure to curb lending after the G20 drafted rules to force them to bolster balance sheets by as much as £130bn.

Leaders at the Toronto G20 summit agreed in future banks should keep enough capital on their balance sheet to have withstood the aftermath of Lehman Brothers' collapse in 2008, the Telegraph reports. Britain's banks will have to permanently bolster their balance sheets by as much as £130bn - equivalent to £5,200 for every household in Britain. Under the previous international banking accords, banks were obliged to hold only 8pc of safe capital on their books to provide a buffer against insolvency. However, the new rules sketched out at the Canadian summit threaten to go further. Th...