UK banks report decline in lending

Lending by Britain's top five banks shrank every quarter last year, official figures revealed today, in an embarrassing blow to the British Chancellor's Project Merlin agreement.

After taking loan repayments into account, the five - Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, Barclays and HSBC - saw combined net lending slide in 2011, the Bank of England said, including a 3% drop in the final quarter.