Redrow also said the market had been helped "significantly" by the Funding for Lending programme.

BBC: Mortgage market boosted by lending schemes, says Redrow

The threat of termination of any forthcoming lending programme is unlikely to cause Mr Moi any sleepless nights.

ECONOMIST: Letters

Tim Coates, former managing director of WH Smith and Waterstones, and founder of e-books sales and lending site Bilbary, told the Today programme's Simon Jack that he thought the US government had "a very strong case" against Apple.

BBC: US has 'strong case' against Apple's e-books

"Growth is likely to be weak in the near term but further out a continued easing in domestic credit conditions, supported by the Bank's asset purchase programme and the Funding for Lending Scheme, together with the stronger global backdrop, underpin a slow but steady recovery in output, " the governor said.

BBC: Inflation to stay above target, says Bank of England

The rise in indirect lending, through the government's credit-guarantee programme, has been even more striking.

ECONOMIST: Will Japan never learn?

"Over time, by providing a market for these assets that does not now exist, this programme will help improve assets values, increase lending capacity by banks, and reduce uncertainty about the scale of losses on bank balance sheets, " US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote in the Wall Street Journal before the programme was officially announced.

BBC: US unveils $1tn toxic asset plan

Such a programme would be cheap, he says, because sub-prime lending is so concentrated in certain neighbourhoods.

ECONOMIST: Lawmakers, state and federal, are mounting an attack

In Britain, banks still face high borrowing costs and remain nervous about lending more to small and medium-sized enterprises: a new credit-easing programme about to be introduced by the BoE and the Treasury is long overdue.

ECONOMIST: Quantitative easing: QE, or not QE? | The