The Bank of England's monthly Trends in Lending report for September reported that lending to businesses by all banks based in the UK and building societies had fallen by £2.5bn in July.
"Net lending flows to UK businesses have remained subdued since the end of 2008," said a spokesperson for the Bank.
"Contacts of the Bank's network of agents noted that while credit conditions were easing for larger businesses, they remained tight for smaller firms."
Despite the pick-up in the economy, too few companies are seeing a significant improvement in lending conditions
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.
Over the past two months the overall cost of credit for manufacturers was almost unchanged and 31% of companies reported an increase in the overall cost of credit compared with 34% in the previous survey. However, the cost of new borrowing rose for 37% of companies, up from 32% previously.
"Despite the pick-up in the economy, too few companies are seeing a significant improvement in lending conditions," said Lee Hopley, the EEF's chief economist.
"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."
