The announcement of a new investment fund for small businesses has been hinted at today, with suggestions that Britain’s major banks, including Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland are potentially involved.

According to the Telegraph, the fund is expected to grow to at least £250m and could eventually double in size. Pitched as the successor to venture capital firm 3i, the establishment of the new equity fund will be financed by contributions from the UK’s major corporate banks, with each of them expected to put tens of millions of pounds into it every year.

The small business fund will come as part of the package of reforms put forward by the banking taskforce, established three months ago to look into the issue of the lack of lending to smaller UK firms.

The taskforce has been overseen by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) and is due to give its final report in the next 10 days. In a statement, the BBA said it report would be “comprehensive and will contain important and wide-ranging recommendations”.