Mr Kiely admitted he ran an unlicensed money lending business, which changed when he obtained a licence from the Office of Fair Trading last year for his firm Millennium Finance Limited.

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Christina Romer, who heads the Council of Economic Advisers, said Sunday the government would pump "a significant amount" of money into boosting small business lending, but she did not reveal a total figure.

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One big question also hanging over the market is whether the BOJ can succeed in pushing down yields in its bid to force banks out of the safety of government bonds and back into the business of lending money.

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Because the core business of banking is taking in money at short-term interest rates and lending it back out at long-term interest rates.

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One is we've said how can we get some money directly out there through the Small Business Administration, and we've ramped up lending through the Small Business Administration by 70 percent and we have eliminated fees and we have increased guarantees -- (applause) -- so that you're seeing a huge increase in the volume of small business loans.

WHITEHOUSE: The White House

Banks compete in similar lines of business, lending against commercial or residential property or (in the late 1970s) channelling money to developing nations.

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