|
BBA: Lending dips again
28 April 2008 10:30
Mortgage lending by banks fell last month, according to new figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA), due to dips in both remortgaging and home buying activity.
Gross lending by Britain's banks stood at £16.6 billion in March, which was down by 5.7 per cent from February and by 4.6 per cent on the previous six-month average, as well as down by 14.7 per cent year-on-year.
Loans to homebuyers fell in volume by 46.2 per cent year-on-year to 35,417 and by 43.7 per cent in value to £5.6 billion, while lending to remortgagers was 22.5 per cent lower than a year ago at £15.6 billion, with the number of mortgages falling by 7.9 per cent to 60,503.
BBA director of statistics David Dooks noted that the impact of low liquidity was visible in last month's lending figures, as reduced product ranges and stricter criteria resulted in slower lending, as well as that strains on personal finance had also taken their toll.
Reflecting on this data, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said the Bank of England's drive to improve mortgage availability by offering to swap secure bonds for lenders' high risk debt could slightly improve the situation but would not turn it around immediately.
|
