Business lending stalls

Earlier this year bankers were getting increasingly bullish about growth prospects in the business lending market and were committing greater resources to the sector.

However, over the past couple of months the market appears to have stalled. According to the latest Reserve Bank lending data, lenders' business loan balances were unchanged in April, with no growth recorded in the month.

The monthly growth rate hit a peak of 0.8 per cent in January, before falling back to 0.6 per cent in February and 0.2 per cent in March.

The 12-month growth rate has fallen back from 5.5 per cent in February (the highest annual growth rate recorded since 2009) to five per cent in April.

The weak numbers in the RBA report are in line with other business indicators that have been released over the past few weeks showing a fall in business investment and weak business confidence.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released last week showed a 4.4 per cent fall in business capital expenditure in the March quarter. The ABS also reported that businesses expect to invest 25 per cent less in the coming financial year than they have in the current year.

National Australia Bank's most recent business survey, taken in April, shows that business confidence is stable but well below the long-term average of the series.

NAB said that confidence levels needed to lift before any meaningful economic recovery could gain traction.