Britain's banks and building societies have been writing off more of their corporate debt than at any time on record, official data shows.

In the three months to June, "write-offs of loans to non-financial corporations" almost tripled to £2.94bn, according to the Bank of England. The only time the level of losses had ever come close was in the fourth quarter of 2009, as Britain was emerging from recession, when write-offs were £2.5bn. The sudden increase in loan losses was at odds with what was then a period of relatively benign economic conditions.

However, it coincided with a regulatory crackdown on "forbearance" – whereby banks vary the terms of a loan to allow struggling borrowers to limp on and avoid booking losses. The Bank, the Financial Services Authority and the International Monetary Fund all raised concerns about the misuse of forbearance at that time, with a particular focus on....Read more here--> Banks write off record level of corporate debts - Telegraph