Businesses in dire need of access to finance

30th January 2013

Business lending fell by £2.

1bn in December 2012 Net lending to business contracted by £18.7bn for the year 2012 Commenting on the latest lending data published today by the Bank of England, Dr Adam Marshall, Director of Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: "These figures clearly demonstrate that the difficult credit environment remains a significant drag on economic growth in the UK. Some of our youngest and fastest growing firms who stand ready to pull the UK economy out of stagnation are being left out in the cold, because they can't get access to the finance they need to expand." "A fully functioning Business Bank is desperately needed to plug this gap and help viable SMEs drive the recovery. We hope that both ministers and the Business Bank's new advisory panel take heed of the success stories seen in countries such as Canada and Brazil, so that the new institution is developed into a major source of capital for those firms that really need it."