Competition and the provision of banking services to SMEs in the U.K.

John Ashton*, Kevin Keasey

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper examines the report produced by the Competition Commission on the provision of SME banking services in the U.K. The report is assessed in terms of underlying assumptions used to describe and assess how banks operate and perform. The Competition Commission suggested "remedies" are drawn from a specific economic model assumed to be representative of the U.K. banking industry. It is concluded the remedies proposed by the Competition Commission are misplaced and may impose a substantial future cost on both banks and SMEs receiving banking services. It is proposed that the ramifications of this case are substantial for the present system of allocating bank funding to SMEs, in both the U.K. and international economies where similar antitrust or competition guidelines are employed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)477-485
Number of pages9
JournalSmall Business Economics
Volume24
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2005

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