New Zealand bank lending growth was flat in March with a drop in business lending partly offsetting further growth in home mortgage lending, Reserve Bank of New Zealand figures show.A speed limit on low deposit mortgage lending imposed in October continued to subdue activity, as did a 25 basis point rise in the official cash rate on March 13. The OCR increased a further 25 basis points to three per cent on April 24.Household lending rose by NZ$887 million in the month of March to NZ$204.928 billion, which was up 5.6 per cent from a year ago. This annualised growth rate was down from 5.7 per cent in February and seasonally adjusted household lending growth was 0.4 per cent for the month, unchanged from the previous month.Business lending fell NZ$348 million in March to NZ$78.851 billion, which was up 3.2 per cent from a year ago. The annualised growth rate was down from 3.4 per cent in February. Total bank and non-bank lending rose NZ$583 million in March to NZ$335.689 billion.Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand reported on Tuesday that high loan-to-valuation ratio mortgage lending fell to 5.6 per cent of total new mortgage lending in the first six months of its speed limit on such lending. This high LVR lending had been about 25 per cent before the imposition of the limit on October 1, which aimed to limit such lending to less than 10 per cent of new lending.The limit was for an initial six month period, before reverting to a three month rolling average for the big four banks and Kiwibank. Smaller banks are still assessed on a six monthly basis. Deputy governor Grant Spencer said in a statement the limit had helped to reduce house price inflation. He said a more detailed assessment would be given when the bank published its half yearly Financial Stability Report on May 14.High LVR lending, deemed to have an LVR above 80 per cent, bottomed out at NZ$147 million or 3.6 per cent of new mortgages in January. High LVR lending rose to NZ$254 million in March, but the percentage remained at 3.6 per cent because total new lending rose.