The Bank of England has released figures for March lending to individuals, including mortgages and remortgages for the purchase of property.
There was an increase of £8.2 billion in total net lending to individuals in March, which was lower than the £9.6 billion increase in February and the previous six-month average. The twelve-month growth rate slowed to 8.7%, and the three-month annualised growth rate slowed by 0.1% to 7.7%.
Within the total, the increase of £6.9 billion in net lending secured on dwellings (ie mortgages) was below the increase of £7.3 billion in February and the previous six-month average. The twelve-month growth rate slowed further to 9.1%. The three-month annualised growth rate also slowed by 0.4% to 7.5%.
There were 64,000 mortgage loans approved for house purchase in March, compared with 72,000 in February. The number of remortgages approved was 98,000, down from 109,000 in February.
The increase in net consumer credit in March (£1.2 billion) was below that in February and below the previous six-month average. Net credit card lending rose by £0.4 billion, in line with the increase in February. Net other loans and advances increased by £0.9 billion, lower than the February increase. The annual growth rate of consumer credit rose by 0.2% to 6.7%; the three-month annualised growth rate rose by 1.4% to 8.6%.
