The amount of money lent to businesses in the UK fell again in December, according to new figures from the Bank of England.
The data shows that lending to private, non-financial companies declined by £6.3 billion between November and December 2010.
During the fourth quarter of the year, business lending contracted at an annualised rate of 6.2 per cent.
The latest BoE figures also show that net mortgage lending, which strips out redemptions and repayments, dropped by £298 million in December as homeowners repaid more than they borrowed in new loans .
Home loan approvals suffered a larger-than-expected drop, falling to 42,563.
Unsecured borrowing in December 2010 rose by £181 million as people borrowed to fund their Christmas.
Borrowing through loans and overdrafts soared by £140 million and credit card spending increased by £41 million.




