Lending records to be scrutinised

UK banks' lending records are to go under the spotlight after official Bank of England figures confirmed Britain's top five lenders missed targets for smaller businesses in 2011 by more than £1 billion.

The five banks - Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, Barclays and HSBC - agreed with the Government in the Project Merlin talks to make £76 billion of lending available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).