The access to a flow of funds from the Bank of England means that banks and building societies do not need to be so competitive when chasing deposits from savers.

BBC: UK mortgage market 'now more robust'

And he welcomes the recent move by the Bank of England to allow banks and building societies to swap potentially risky mortgage debts for secure government bonds to help them operate during the credit squeeze.

BBC: Warning on slow mortgage recovery

The Bank of England has been offering cheap funds to banks and building societies, provided it is then lent to individuals and non-financial companies.

BBC: UK mortgage market 'now more robust'

Cheshire and Derbyshire merged with Nationwide in 2008, and Dunfermline Building Society was taken over in 2009, in a deal brokered through the UK Treasury, Bank of England and Financial Services Authority.

BBC: Nationwide expected to shed 500 jobs in regional shake-up

All of which suggests that although the life of FLS will almost certainly be extended for another year or so, and perhaps access to cheap loans from the Bank of England will be widened to lenders that aren't technically banks or building societies, it won't be "put on steroids" (to use the resonant phrase from this morning's FT headline).

BBC: Can banks be forced to lend more?

Banks and building societies have been making swifter-than-predicted progress in repaying the emergency lending they had to take from the Bank of England and the Treasury in 2008 during the height of the banking crisis.

BBC: House sales have fallen so why are prices still high?