Demand for new loans for business remains in the doldrums, with monthly lending volumes being only two-thirds the level reported prior to the financial crisis.The Australian Bureau of Statistics put the new level of lending, in October 2012, at A$29.8 billion on a trend basis, or $4 billion a month below the level of new business in the same month last year.National Australia Bank, in its monthly survey of business conditions, said that "firms reported that borrowing conditions remained difficult in November."The bank also concluded that "demand for credit strengthened, possibly in response to lower borrowing costs."