Business account lending fell in January according to the Bank of England's Trends in Lending report.
Loans to
business accounts fell during January, according to the Bank of England.
Data released by the Bank of England this week indicated that the stock of lending to
UK accounts of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) showed the greatest weakness.
In addition, the report revealed that lending to businesses fell by a greater degree than some of the country's major lenders had predicted.
However, while the Bank claimed that the overall availability of credit rose during the month, this only really affected the lending needs of bigger organisations.
"Indicators of corporate distress, such as the write-off rate, have risen by less than in the early 1990s and were lower than some major UK lenders expected," it noted.
Previously, Lloyds TSB had indicated that the early part of the year had been tough for businesses owing to the poor weather. Its figures indicated that 56 per cent of SMEs believed the weather disruption had affected their bottom line.
By Emma North