MANCHESTER'S business community has been told that bigger is not always better when it comes to their banking needs.

Alliance & Leicester chief executive Richard Pym, speaking at an event at Manchester Art Gallery to mark the unveiling of the first of his bank's six new national business centres, said businesses should look beyond the traditional players for the best deals.

He said he planned to break the stranglehold of the country's banking elite.

"We offer a very competitive proposition compared to the traditional banks who have had the franchise all to themselves for too long," he said. "We're one of the new competitors and expect a lot of people to try the superior products we offer." Alliance & Leicester already has 22,000 business customers in the north west and is confident of increasing that and raising group profits.

"We certainly have set targets and we are confident we can achieve those," said Mr Pym. "Last year we had very good financial results and hit all targets."

He rejected calls for a windfall tax on bank profits. Banks are one of the nation's success stories and should be supported, he said.

Guests at the launch party included Manchester city council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein. Tweet