Sunny outlook for lending as UK businesses borrow £2.5bn more
BUSINESSES borrowed £2.5bn more from high street banks in September compared to the prior month, figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) revealed yesterday.
The increase in lending is the biggest monthly rise since 2009 and builds on a growing picture of consumer confidence in the economy, BBA statistics director, David Dooks said. He added that the figures reflected increased demand from wholesalers, retailers and utility companies. Net borrowings by financial institutions slowed, however, to £7bn more versus £13.8bn added in August.
Meanwhile, mortgage lending and consumer credit also displayed high levels of growth. Mortgage borrowing rose in September to £9.7bn, comfortably above the average level of £8.7bn recorded by the association over the previous six month period.
New credit card spending of £8.3bn was also higher than the recent monthly average.
The six largest retail lending banks are Barclays, HSBC Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Santander UK and Virgin Money.