LONDON (AP) - The Bank of England says lending to big business is growing but smaller companies are still struggling to get credit.
The bank reported Monday that net lending to businesses in August was 300 million pounds ($470 million), the first positive figure since February.
Small and medium-sized enterprises - those which have annual revenues of below 25 million pounds - have complained for some time that they have had difficulty in getting loans. The Bank of England report shows that loans to such businesses has been below year-earlier levels through the first three quarters of 2010.
The Bank of England notes conflicting reports from banks that loan demand from small companies has remained weak while small business organizations say credit is still hard to get.