In return for taxpayer support for the banks, people would have the chance to buy discounted shares in the state owned banks. He hopes special offers will encourage younger people and those on modest incomes to start saving.
Osborne described the proposals as providing a golden opportunity to start building a savings society so more people have a stake in the future of the economy.
He added: “Taxpayers bailed out the banks, so they deserve a ‘people’s bank bonus’ when the time comes to sell the government shares.”
However, his plans were dismissed by Vince Cable, Treasury spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, who described the plans as “grossly immature” and said the Tories were out of touch.
He said: “A young couple on low income is more concerned with putting food on the table than speculating on the stock market. Actively encouraging people on very low incomes to invest in a volatile share market beggars belief and shows just how removed the Tories are from everyday reality.”
Cable said it would be several years before the banks could be sold off, so “dangling this prospect” was “electioneering at its most cynical”.
He added: “These banks should be set the concrete objective of ensuring lending to sound small and medium-sized businesses who are the drivers of our economic recovery.”
Last year, UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the body set up by Chancellor Alistair Darling to look after the stakes in the bailed-out banks, said it would consider selling off the shares to private investors.
