Member Article

Bank of England business lending falls £2.8bn

Lending to UK businesses fell by £2.8bn in November 2012, according to statistics from the Bank of England (BoE).

Figures persistently decreased between September and November last year, and net lending to businesses narrowed by £17.1bn in the 11 months up to the end of November.

BoE’s statistics, released on Friday, demonstrated the most significant decline since February last year.

The value of net funds raised by businesses in November were down by 5.8%, in comparison to November 2011 when funds increased by 1.7%.

Dr Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chamber of Commerce, commented: “The latest figures reveal that lending to UK businesses has declined at the fastest rate for almost a year.

“Although these figures partly reflect the continued uncertainty in the outlook for the UK economy, they also confirm that businesses are still unable to secure credit, particularly young, fast-growing SMEs.

“Businesses want to grow but continue to struggle to gain the finance they need. The government should therefore turn their rhetoric on the Business Bank into reality, to help viable and fast-growing companies get access to capital.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .