§ 25. Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the effect upon the expansion of credit that the lowering of the minimum lending rate from 17 to 16 per cent. will have in the next six and 12 months, respectively.
§ Mr. BiffenIt is not possible to give a precise answer. But it will over a period tend to mitigate the fall in the demand for credit that can be expected with the downturn in the economy.