businessNEWS
Biggest fall in business
lending in six months
The Bank of England report says net
lending to businesses fell by £3.7bn in
November, despite attempts to rebalance
loans away from mortgages.
This was the biggest drop since May, coming
as a blow to Mark Carney’s attempt to boost
business lending.
The Bank of England Governor has
attempted to cool down house price inflation
and encourage business loans, using measures
such as cancelling the Funding for Lending
Scheme for mortgages from the start of
2014.
The previous lending report - released
in October - indicated that the decline in
business lending had started to tail off, falling
at a relatively low £2.3bn in the three months
to the end of August.
However, net lending to businesses was
down £4.3bn in the following quarter - the
three months to the end of November. In
the 11 months from the start of 2013, net
business lending was down 3.1pc - the same
fall as in the same period in 2012.
This comes despite increasing demand for
loans, according to the BoE’s latest credit
conditions research. Low levels of business
lending and investment have led to fears that
Britain’s economic recovery is an unstable one
built on higher consumer spending.
“The annual rate of growth in the stock of
secured lending to individuals in the year to
November remained weak,” the report said.
Although alternative methods of financing
are growing, six institutions - Santander,
Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide and
Royal Bank of Scotland - account for 70pc of
all business lending, according to the Bank of
England.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European
economist at IHS Global Insight, said an
improvement in business lending trends seems
likely.
“With the UK sustaining a decent level
of economic activity and prospects looking
relatively bright, it seems highly likely