Grantham MP Gareth Davies looks set to get his wish for a 'development bank' to 'level up' the regions.

The Financial Times yesterday reported that Chancellor Rishi Sunak this week will announce a 'National Infrastructure Bank' to channel billions of pounds into capital projects.

The newspaper said the Treasury believes that the bank, which will be based in northern England, can play a central role in helping kickstart the economy following the pandemic.

The new lender, said to start in Spring 2021, will co-invest alongside private investors through a mix of loans and guarantees as well as taking equity stakes in projects.

The move by the Chancellor follows repeated lobbying by Mr Davies, who has a background in finance and is from Yorkshire.

On Wednesday, the MP asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson to "consider launching a new financial institution such as a national development bank to help to achieve" a true levelling up of "constituencies like mine in Lincolnshire."

Mr Johnson replied the government was investing in Greater Lincolnshire and: "We will be bringing forward further measures—I take his point on board very sincerely—to boost investment in UK infrastructure in due course."

Earlier this month, Mr Davies made a similar plea to Co-Conservative Party Chairman Amanda Milling in a parliamentary debate on regional economic equality.

Ms Milling replied: "The Government will bring forward further measures to boost investment in UK infrastructure as part of the national infrastructure strategy."

As Nub News reported last month, Mr Davies has co-written a research paper on how such a bank will operate for the research group Onward.

Nub News has approached Mr Davies for comment.