Net mortgage lending in Britain hit the lowest level in eight years in April and savings growth remained subdued, the British Bankers Association said Wednesday.
Net lending was 2.7 billion pounds ($4.3 billion), compared to an average of 3.4 billion pounds in the previous six months, the association said. The March figure was 3.4 billion pounds.
Gross mortgage lending of 7.9 billion pounds in April was down from 8.7 billion pounds in March, and 52 percent below a year ago.
Both the gross and net figures were the lowest since March 2001, the association said.
Personal deposits were up 1.8 billion pounds, compared to a rise of 700 million pounds in March and the six-month average of 1.1 billion pounds.
The value of house purchase mortgages approved edged up from 3.4 billion pounds in March to 3.5 billion pounds in April. That was 30 percent below year-ago levels.
"The house purchase part of the mortgage market appears to have stabilized, with slightly more approvals coming through, although April's weak net mortgage lending reflects the lower number of approvals in previous months," said David Dooks, statistics director for the association.
"Households' uncertain financial circumstances not surprisingly continue to dictate consumer behavior, both in the housing market and in generating only low demand for new personal loans."
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On the Net: http://www.bba.org.uk
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