Gross lending to SMEs from all banks was £10.2bn in Q2 2013, £10.1bn in Q3 2013 and £12.4bn in Q4 2013. However, net lending over the same nine months came in at negative £2.1bn, as repayments from SMEs outstripped new borrowings.
The figures, published yesterday by the Bank of England (BoE) highlight governor of the Central Bank Mark Carney's concerns that the FLS is contributing to rising house prices that could ultimately derail the economy.
The combination of cheap FLS money and the government's controversial Help to Buy scheme contributing to another housing bubble is clearly a significant concern and likely influenced the decision to pull support for mortgage lending from the one-year FLS extension that started last month.
This means the 34 financial institutions that have signed up to the extension will only be able to use the money to support lending to large corporates, SMEs and other third-party credit providers.
Meanwhile, money drawn by all 46 participants in the original FLS, which ran until 31 January 2014, accelerated in the final four months leading up to the end of the initial phase. In total £18.8bn was drawn under the FLS from 1 October 2013 to 31 January 2014, almost half the £41.9bn drawn since the FLS started in Q3 2012.
