Extra capital for Clydesdale Bank

Clydesdale Bank has had £400m of extra capital allocated by its parent firm.

The move is to boost its reserves as a buffer against a potential downturn in the UK economy, while bank regulators look to higher levels of capital.

National Australia Bank said it was allocating the money to its Clydesdale subsidiary, which includes Yorkshire Bank, from its own capital reserves.

It means a rise of 1.4 percentage points in tier 1 funding - the reserves a bank holds against lending activity.

It is understood core tier 1 funding has now risen to about 11% of the Glasgow-based bank's balance sheet.

Clydesdale chief executive David Thorburn said: "This capital increase continues our focus on maintaining a conservative level of liquidity and strong capital ratios."