http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...arclay.banking
Thousands small businesses hit by the credit crunch will have their problems compounded on Wednesday, when Barclays drastically increases their overdraft rate to more than 15 per cent.
The bank is raising the interest-rate margin on overdrafts for some of its 50,000 small business customers from 6.8 per cent above the Bank of England base rate to 10.8 per cent above. This brings the rate to 15.8 per cent overall.
Barclays revealed the change in a letter to its customers in which it blamed the increased cost of lending.
The move has incensed the Federation of Small Businesses, which has written to the now former Business Secretary John Hutton to complain.
'We believe that Barclays is pre-empting the fact that businesses will increasingly be turning to them for more money,' said Stephen Alambritis, head of public affairs at the FSB.