LONDON: Britain finalized a tortuous deal with banks Wednesday to curb bonuses and boost lending to business, but critics said the agreement would be hard to enforce and mere "political theatre". Finance Minister George Osborne said the deal, known as "Project Merlin", would see Britain's top banks lend about 190 billion pounds ($305.3 billion) gross to business this year, up from about 179 billion previously. The major banks also agreed to cut their bonuses for UK staff this year and to link the remuneration of their chief executives to how much money their companies had lent out to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government has a tough balancing act on its hands as it seeks to assuage anger over the use of public funds to rescue the banking system at the height of the financial crisis without damaging London's competitiveness as a major financial centre. Several investors said the banks could duck out of lending targets by blaming a lack of demand for credit from companies. Analysts said the banks could find other ways around the deal.
