LONDON (Bloomberg) — Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling suggested he may cut the charges banks pay to tap the UK Treasury programme to increase their capital levels, saying he's reviewing the matter.

"It's right that we keep those things under review," Darling said in response to a question in the House of Commons in London yesterday. "That is something that we will look at. We also need to make sure that the taxpayer gets a fair deal." Banks including Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Lloyds TSB Group Plc and HBOS Plc agreed to pay a dividend of about 12 percent to the government in exchange for tapping up to £50 billion ($74 billion) from the Treasury.

The Conservative opposition and banking analysts have called on the government to cut the cost of the funds to free up lending. Banks are continuing to ration credit to consumers and businesses even after tapping the Treasury's credit lines.

"The purpose of recapitalisation was not necessarily to protect the banks but to ensure the flow of lending could continue at normal rates," Conservative leader David Cameron said in Parliament on December 10. "He is lending to the banks at 12 percent and he expects them to lend out at six percent."