Total sterling commercial paperoutstanding rose 251 mln stg to 1.19 billion in April, taking
it above one billion stg for the first time since the market
opened in May 1986, figures released today by the Bank of
England show.
    Banks' holdings of commercial paper totalled 264 mln stg at
end-April, down six mln from March.
    Of the total, 225 mln had been issued by U.K. Companies, up
three mln from March. Changes in these holdings are included in
the  "bank lending in sterling to the U.K. Non-bank private
sector" component of M3 money supply.
 Reuter
