The London Daily News

City News Desk

Business lobby group the Federation of Small Businesses has warned that a double dip recession is more likely with the "unnecessarily stringent” bank restrictions to small and medium sized businesses in London.

The Federation of Small of Businesses which represents over 100,000 small companies, has said that there is an "increasing number of complaints" that businesses are being asked to put up property as collateral for relatively small loans.  One small business owner in Hendon Mario Demetri said to The London Daily News:

"A Cypriot bank in London who I deal with, asked me to put my £600,000 home as security for a £15,000 overdraft.  I was astonished and annoyed that these banks can do this".

Other business groups are claiming that banks who are viewing properties in a "pessimistic way" and are also imposing high interest rates on loans or are simply refusing to lend.

Figures published today by the National Housing Federation estimates that people who bought a property in 2007, the peak of the market, will have to wait until 2014 before they can recover the price they paid for their home.