Tweet
</span> 
The EEF warns that the supply of money is not keeping pace with the manufacturing upturn
The amount of bank lending to UK manufacturers has barely changed in the past two months, according to a survey by the EEF engineering group.
This is despite the government and business leaders stepping up calls for banks to relax borrowing to business.
The survey found that the few companies reporting easier access to finance were medium to large businesses, with the cost of new credit slightly up.
But small firms are still struggling to get new lending, the survey found.
The EEF's report comes as the deadline closes for submissions to the government about the Access to Finance Green Paper, which is examining bank lending conditions and companies' access to credit.
Over the past two months the overall cost of credit for manufacturers was almost unchanged, the survey of 323 companies suggested.
During the period, 31% of companies reported an increase in the overall cost of credit compared with 34% in the previous survey.
But the cost of new borrowing rose for 37% of companies, up from 32% previously.
Lee Hopley, the EEF's chief economist, said: "Despite the pick-up in the economy, too few companies are seeing a significant improvement in lending conditions.
"This was never likely to be a swift or easy process, but we are concerned that the rise in the cost of new borrowing may be signalling that the supply of finance is not able to keep up the upturn in manufacturing activity," she said.
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The EEF warns that the supply of money is not keeping pace with the manufacturing upturn The amount of bank lending to UK manufacturers has barely changed in the past two months, according to a survey by the EEF engineering group.
This is despite the government and business leaders stepping up calls for banks to relax borrowing to business.
The survey found that the few companies reporting easier access to finance were medium to large businesses, with the cost of new credit slightly up.
But small firms are still struggling to get new lending, the survey found.
The EEF's report comes as the deadline closes for submissions to the government about the Access to Finance Green Paper, which is examining bank lending conditions and companies' access to credit.
Over the past two months the overall cost of credit for manufacturers was almost unchanged, the survey of 323 companies suggested.
During the period, 31% of companies reported an increase in the overall cost of credit compared with 34% in the previous survey.
But the cost of new borrowing rose for 37% of companies, up from 32% previously.
Lee Hopley, the EEF's chief economist, said: "Despite the pick-up in the economy, too few companies are seeing a significant improvement in lending conditions.
"This was never likely to be a swift or easy process, but we are concerned that the rise in the cost of new borrowing may be signalling that the supply of finance is not able to keep up the upturn in manufacturing activity," she said.
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.