Nationwide, Investec, Co-Op Bank get cash for small business lending

LONDON (Reuters) - Nationwide Building Society, Investec Bank and The Co-operative Bank have been granted a total of 80 million pounds from a fund set-up to increase competition for lending to small businesses in Britain.

The Board of Banking Competition Remedies (BCR) said on Tuesday that it was allocating 50 million pounds to Nationwide, 15 million pounds to Investec and 15 to Co-operative Bank.

The BCR was set up with cash from Royal Bank of Scotland as part of a scheme requiring it to help boost competition in business lending - a condition of its bailout during the 2008 financial crisis.

Earlier this year challenger lenders Metro Bank, Starling Bank and ClearBank were granted 280 million pounds in the first round of grants from the fund.

(Reporting by Rachel Armstrong, editing by Sinead Cruise)