New scheme to kickstart lending

David Jones/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Details of a multi-billion pound scheme to kickstart bank lending will be unveiled today in the latest effort to ward off the credit squeeze.

The Bank of England and Treasury's "funding for lending" programme will see an estimated £80 billion offered to banks on condition they pass it on to businesses and households in the form of cheaper loans and mortgages. The co-ordinated action is part of a raft of measures being taken to boost lending as banks face a worrying new phase in the credit crisis.