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Foreign travel advice Indonesia
FCDO advises against all travel to parts of Indonesia.
Foreign travel advice Romania
Warnings and insurance Still current at: 24 April 2024 Updated: 23 April 2024 Latest update: Information related to drug offences and Romanian music festivals (under 'Laws and cultural differences' subheading on the 'Safety and security' page).
Foreign travel advice The Gambia
Warnings and insurance Still current at: 23 April 2024 Updated: 22 April 2024 Latest update: Ferry services between Banjul and Barra have been suspended until further notice; The Islamic Summit of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) will be held in Banjul on 4-5 May; road closures and delays at Banjul International Airport ('Safety and security' page).
Foreign travel advice China
Warnings and insurance Still current at: 23 April 2024 Updated: 22 April 2024 Latest update: Updated information on flooding (‘Safety and security’ page).
Guidance Living in South Korea
Information for British citizens moving to or living in South Korea, including guidance on residency, healthcare, driving and more.
Funding for lending scheme will continue to fail if money is not ring fenced for SMEs warns James Hardy, Head of Europe, Alibaba.com:
Last week’s announcement about the stress test results by the Prudential Regulation Authority is another nail in the coffin of the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS).
The purpose of the FLS was “to boost lending to the real economy” (Bank of England website). It is failing for two reasons: A regulatory banking environment which with today’s announcement is arguably penalising banks which lend under the scheme; and the misconceived notion that mortgage lending is as important for the economy as lending to SMEs.
Lenders prefer mortgage lending because the asset is tangible and perceived as safe. But mortgage lending makes no meaningful contribution to economic growth, is fundamentally a political activity and is only contributing to an increased risk of a property crash.
By contrast SMEs currently employ 60% of Britain’s workforce, are the most important macro-economic driver of the economy and a huge contributor to exports. They are the biggest losers whenever a bank makes a mortgage loan in favour of a loan to an SME, and also when total bank lending falls from banks like Barclay’s, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds.
We need to concentrate on supporting SMEs by ring-fencing government money for their needs and growth, which must be free of any external forces or competing lending priorities.
Only then will we see the much needed credit-injection to help support the small and medium-sized businesses which could guide us out of recession.
James Hardy