Third-quarter figures on bank lending by sector released by the Bank of England today suggest banks provided massive support to off-balance sheet vehicles, hedge funds and other financial intermediaries during the August / September market dislocation. The chart aggregates the flow of new sterling lending to three industries: “other financial intermediaries”, “fund management activities” and “other auxiliary activities”. The third-quarter total of £41 billion is a record and amounts to 19% of the outstanding stock of loans to these industries – equivalent to a 99% annualised growth rate!