Minsters meet with bank chiefs

The First Minister Peter D. Robinson MP MLA and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and their Executive colleagues Nigel Dodds and Arlene Foster today held a meeting with the Chief Executives of local banks to explore further initiatives to ease the impact of the present economic downturn on consumers and businesses.

Martin McGuinness said: “Yesterday we as an Executive, unveiled a package of measures to help ordinary people and businesses cope with the difficult economic times in which we find ourselves. That range of measures however is only one piece in the jigsaw and it is vital that we continue to engage with other major players who can do their part in helping us move forward.

“In our discussions today, we raised with banks recent cuts in interest rates by central banks as well as the liquidity pumped into the market which should make a significant impact on the cost of borrowing for both householders and business.”

Peter Robinson said: “Today’s meeting was the latest in an ongoing engagement that we have been having with all relevant sectors in the context of the present economic downturn. The role that banks play in all of this is obviously central and during the course of today’s meeting we discussed ways in which banks can help those experiencing difficulties with their mortgages, as well as the role banks can play in assisting local businesses, in particular, the likes of the construction industry which is particularly vulnerable at this time.

“We have established a cross sectoral advisory panel to continue engagement with key groupings and we believe partnership working is absolutely vital in the current circumstances.”

Notes to Editors:

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