Borrowing by small businesses rose by an underlying Ј1.0 billion (+3%) in the final quarter of last year. This was higher than the previous quarters rise and bought total lending to Ј38.9 billion at the end of the year. Over two-thirds of the rise was accounted for by an increase in variable rate term loans.
The final quarter saw 26,000 more current and deposit accounts for small businesses, whilst an in crease of Ј2.3 billion raised the level of their total deposits to Ј41.2 billion.
BBA director general Tim Sweeney said: "There are over four million small business accounts in the UK and deposits by those businesses exceed their borrowing from banks. It is easy to think of bank support only in terms of providing finance, but other services such as cash handling and payment facilities are also fundamental requirements of small businesses and are reflected in these figures."
Source: Business Money
