Mortgage lending remains subdued, says BBA

Gross mortgage lending amounted to £7.1bn in July and was below the recent monthly average, according to the British Bankers Association (BBA). Mortgage approvals for house purchase in July were 17% lower than a year ago, though there was an upturn in demand from June. The average house purchase approval stands at £161,100 but due to expanded reporting within one banking group since the turn of the year, this cannot be directly compared with earlier trend figures. New spending on credit cards of £6.9bn was below the recent monthly average and continues to be more than offset by repayments. BBA statistics director, David Dooks said: “We continue to see the household sector increasing deposits and repaying debt. High street bank ISAs continue to attract strong personal deposits while repayments of both mortgages and unsecured lending have grown strongly this year as households seek to reduce borrowing and borrowing costs. “Companies are reluctant to borrow or invest new funds while domestic and international trading activities remain subdued or uncertain. With larger firms also using alternative funding from corporate bonds, bank borrowing levels are contracting.” August 24, 2012