Lending to businesses by banks and building societies fell by around £9bn in the three months to February 2012, according to official Bank of England (BoE) data.
The Bank said "This contraction in the stock of lending to businesses overall has also been reflected in the stock of lending to small and medium-sized enterprises. Corporate lending by UK-resident foreign lenders had slowed sharply since the financial crisis began. Their contribution to the contraction in the stock of lending was greater than that of the major UK lenders in the second half of 2009 and most of 2010."