CML responds to Treasury claims

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has responded to a set of banking bail-out terms published this morning (13 October).

A statement by the Treasury regarding today's £37 billion equity injection into Lloyds, HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland said that the banks had agreed to restore lending to 2007 levels.

This would indicate a substantial relaxation in lending to homeowners and businesses was on the horizon, but the CML has claimed that the agreement is not specific.

A spokesperson for the Council said: "The CML assumes that the reference is a more generic aspiration to achieving a broad, deep mortgage market in general with a good spread of products."

The CML added that it wholeheartedly supports making the mortgage market more accessible for "credit-worthy borrowers" and agreed with the development of schemes to keep people in their homes.

The Treasury's statement also noted that the government would have to endorse the board appointments of new independent executive directors, as well as dividend policy.