Government Set To Increase The Bank Levy To 2.5bn For This Year

March 2, 2011 - PRLog -- With the Government’s announcement this month that it is set to increase the Bank Levy discussed under “Project Meriln” from the original 0.05% to the higher rate of 0.075%, the Budget is set to gain a total of £2.5bn this year as a result, an extra £800m from the original estimate. With this extra injection to the Budget from high street banks, Victoria Nupen, Managing Director of Cardiff Marketing Services wonders just how much this will benefit UK consumers.

The scheme between the government and major UK banks, named “Project Merlin”, would involve banks making larger amounts of credit available to UK businesses, supporting the government's so-called Big Society Bank, providing finance for medium-size businesses in economically disadvantaged parts of the country, and showing restraint in bonus payments to Executives. The aim of Project Merlin is to smooth relations between the bank sector, the government and a hostile electorate. Just how much of this will the average UK consumer see, however?

“With the economy in turmoil, and with budgeting month to month now an even bigger concern for the average UK shopper, I think it’s very important that every initiative the government pursues should have the average UK consumer firmly first in mind,” says Victoria Nupen, Managing Director of Cardiff Marketing Services. “The most important thing must surely be to give people enough confidence to start spending again at a time when most financial news seems to be spreading doom and gloom.”

Public borrowing has gone from £37.2bn in 2006 to £144.2bn in 2010 according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics in January 2011, an increase of 387% in the last four years. The evidence of the difficult financial climate is everywhere on the High Street. Despite this; bank executives are set to share an estimated £6bn in bonuses at the end of this financial year even after the government levy; something that is likely to make consumers even more unhappy.

Despite this trend, Cardiff Marketing Services have been successful in generating consistent growth for their clients in the Cardiff area and are currently looking to recruit several individuals to help further current campaigns. Given their performance in this difficult climate, and with excellent prospects for development, Victoria aims to attract candidates of a calibre which she hopes will allow Cardiff Marketing Services to continue to go from strength to strength in the future.