New figures from the British Bankers Association show that banks approved the highest number of mortgages in a year last month, whilst credit card lending partly revived after a lull in December.

The Association said its members gave the green light to 44,657 mortgages in January, up from 43,581 in December and the highest number since January last year, when 45,794 were granted.
Net credit card lending also picked up after stagnating in December, rising by 116 million pounds, though this was still one of the smallest increases of the past six months.

UK mortgage approvals hit 12-month high in January – BBA – Reuters