(MENAFN) Data released by the Bank of England (BOE) show that lending to businesses in the UK continued to fall, Xinhua reported. BOE data reveals that the growth rate in the stock of lending by K-resident monetary financial institutions (MFIs) has been negative in the past five years. The annual growth in the first December-February period dropped 0.5 percent, the data shows. Some positive indicators, on the other hand, were observed such as an increase in credit availability and spreads on new lending to households and many businesses have tightened.