Availability of credit improving but lending remains subdued
THE flow of lending to UK businesses improved markedly in August but still remained in negative territory, the Bank of England said yesterday.
Its monthly Trends in Lending report also showed that, following robust capital market issuance over recent months, net funds raised by UK businesses weakened in August.
The report said repayments outstripped new lending to businesses in August. Also, new mortgages became slightly more expensive in August with a typical rate of 4.3 per cent, up from 4.2 per cent in July. A lack of appetite for credit card borrowing and loans continued.
Lenders said that they had not seen any increase in demand for car loans, despite the pick-up in car sales driven in part by the scrappage scheme, the report revealed.