By contrast, the other banks include undrawn overdraft facilities in their Merlin numbers to a greater or lesser extent.

BBC: How banks can fudge small-business lending data

More seriously perhaps, Royal Bank of Scotland - by far the biggest lender to small businesses - does not include undrawn overdraft facilities in its Merlin data.

BBC: How banks can fudge small-business lending data

Analysis by Moody's, a rating agency, shows that the vast majority of highly rated companies in America and Europe have enough headroom, in the form of cash and undrawn bank facilities, to be able to survive for 12 months without needing new financing.

ECONOMIST: Corporate lending