UK mortgage approvals rise in April but lending growth remains subdued - BBA |
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Tue, 29 May 2007 09:47
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LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The number of loans taken out for house purchases in the UK, excluding those for remortgaging, rose in April, but lending growth remains below its average over the past six months, according to figures from a group of leading banks.In its in-depth analysis of the mortgage market in April, the British Bankers Association said the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases grew 1 pct to 64,815 from 64,183 a year earlier. The value of loans approved was up 10 pct on an annual basis to 9.9 bln stg from 9.0 bln.However the figures were down sharply from 75,098 and 11.3 bln stg in March, and indicate the UK housing market may be starting to slow.'The latest three months have seen net mortgage lending stabilise, with rises below the average of the previous six months,' said David Dooks, BBA director of statistics.'The picture from approvals points to mortgage demand weakening further as the year progresses and the cumulative effect of higher interest rates bites harder,' he added.The Bank of England has raised interest rates four times since August last year, and the market widely expects a further quarter point rise to 5.75 pct in the coming months.The total number of mortgages approved for all purposes, which includes remortgages and other forms of secured lending, rose to 169,784 in April from 168,830 a year ago.Meanwhile net mortgage lending in April rose by an underlying 5.0 bln stg from a year earlier, slightly down on March's 5.1 bln increase and below the recent six month average of 5.4 bln stg.Gross mortgage lending continued to grow in April, however the BBA said this largely reflects annual growth in house prices and strong re-mortgaging activity. Gross lending in April totalled 17.3 bln stg from 15.5 bln a year ago.Elsewhere personal lending on things such as credit cards, overdrafts and loans remained subdued with credit card borrowing down 0.1 bln stg in April while borrowings on personal loans and overdrafts showed only a modest rise.'Another net repayment on credit cards means that repayments have exceeded cardholders' spending in ten of the last 12 months, as they continue to run down their credit card borrowing,' said Dooks.rachel.armstrong@thomson.comrar/abrCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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OFFICIAL CORRECTION UK March mortgage lending, approvals slow a touch - BoE 