In an interview with the Financial Times, Cable criticised the Bank’s efforts to over-regulate the banking sector thus harming lending to small business in the process.
He said that decisions by the Bank last month to ask Britain’s main lenders to increase their safety buffers by more than £27bn collectively was exposing the banking sector to excessive financial burdens.
Cable said: “One of the anxieties in the business community is that the so called ‘capital Taliban’ in the Bank of England are imposing restrictions which at this delicate stage of recovery actually make it more difficult for companies to operate and expand.
“It is clear that the main banks are failing to support good British companies in key areas like exporting and innovation.”
The Bank also surprised many by introducing ‘leverage rules’ – which required banks to hold a certain levels of assets when lending, which were not due to come into force before 2018.
This view was shared by George Osborne earlier, however, the chancellor has not to date publicly taken aim at the Bank.
The Bank of England’s decisions are independent of government.
