Lending in January fell at fastest pace since records began - BoE

Lending to businesses contracted £6.5bn for the first month of the year and was 9.3% lower than in January 2009 - marking the biggest decline since records began in 1999. January's record plunge comes on the back of a £3.4bn drop in December, but major UK lenders say activity levels in February, although still subdued, were not as weak as for the previous month. One reason for the fall, according to the Bank, is weakened demand from businesses as they look to reduce debt levels.   The drop in lending levels is of particular concern to smaller companies which are more dependent on b...