Ananova:

Firms have reported that credit conditions remained tough in May but expect the situation to stabilise, the Confederation of British Industry said today.

The latest survey showed a net 20% of firms finding it more difficult to raise new funds in the three months to May - an improvement on the overall net negative balance of 36% in March.

"Big companies who were encountering serious problems getting credit at the start of the year are still finding it difficult, but they expect that the supply of existing credit will get slightly easier over the next few months," said Ian McCafferty, CBI chief economic adviser.

Although, the figures are still negative, the findings are a good sign that credit market conditions are easing slightly.

However the availability of trade credit insurance - which covers suppliers against the risk of not being paid in case of insolvency - continued to worsen, the CBI said.

The survey showed a net 54% of firms were still struggling to gain the cover, despite a £5bn government-backed boost to the sector in April's budget.

"While the Government has made some welcome moves to improve the availability of trade credit insurance, it remains a very live issue for many businesses, and more could be done to ease the pain," Mr McCafferty added.