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The British government plans to hold talks with banks shortly about getting lending flowing to business after the Bank of England cut interest rates to a record low.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that banks would be made to honour a commitment in the rescue plan to maintain the supply of loans to mortgage holders and small businesses at 2007 levels.
"We will be meeting the banks in the next few days to agree with them on how we can move this forward," he told Sky News.
The Bank of England cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 1.5 percent on Thursday, the latest in a series of cuts designed to prevent Britain becoming stuck in a deep and damaging recession.
However, banks remain reluctant to lend as they try to rebuild their capital base following the credit crunch, blunting the impact of rate cuts.
In a statement accompanying its rate decision, the Bank of England cited the need for "further measures to increase the flow of lending to the non-financial sector".
The opposition Conservatives called for changes in the terms of Britain's bank recapitalisation plan, specifically a reduction in the 12 percent coupon on preference shares paid by banks that have signed up to it.
Opposition economic spokesman George Osborne also called on the government to provide loan guarantees, initially worth up to 50 billion pounds ($76.2 billion), for new lending to businesses of all sizes.
"Every day that Gordon Brown dithers, he is putting at risk people's jobs and livelihoods and futures," Osborne said in a speech in London.
Brown must call a general election by May 2010 and the economy will be a central theme as unemployment spikes higher and industry stutters.
A poll published on Friday showed the Conservatives with a seven point lead over Brown's ruling Labour, which would leave the opposition just shy of an overall majority in parliament.
Following a bank rescue plan unveiled in October, Britain owns a majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> and will hold a large minority stake in the combined Lloyds TSB/HBOS <LLOY.L> <HBOS.L>
Britain has also taken Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley into public ownership.
