Trevor Lunn MLA said: “I welcome the input of the four main church leaders on this subject. While banks need to be careful about risk, I believe they need to be more responsive to businesses here.
“The banks unfortunately made massive losses through bad loans but that should not deter them from making good loans and extending credit to long-term customers.
“Massive concerns exist for many people about their jobs and the future of organisations they work for and we must look at a number of options to address these problems. Banks play a massive role in the economic health of any region and it would be positive if they could provide more scope to assist businesses to expand.
“A number of banks were assisted by the government during the worst of the downturn and I believe that there is now the opportunity for banks to play a role in safeguarding jobs and helping create more posts in the private sector.”
ENDS