Postbank could start low-rate lending by 2017

The government is a step closer to launching its own lending services to consumers after receiving the go-ahead this week from the Reserve Bank to establish a lending facility through Postbank.The approval will convert Postbank, which is owned by the Post Office, from a deposit-taking facility that has mainly offered services where banks have a limited presence into an institution providing transactional banking services and short-term loans at interest rates below those charged by commercial ba...