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Mortgage lending up at high street banks

Tuesday, 24 March 2009 10:32 AM

Mortgage lending was up slightly in February but savings continued to fall, data from banks show.

The British Banking Association (BBA) found high street banks were lending £3.9 billion more in February on homes, although gross mortgage lending has now fallen to £9.2 billion, the lowest since June 2001.

Approvals for house purchase rose in February to 28,179, although were still some 31 per cent lower than in February 2008.

Remortgaging approvals declined slightly as borrowers reverted to standard variable rates rather than moving to new fixed rate products, the BBA added.

BBA statistics director, David Dooks, said: "Remortgaging activity has slowed in recent months, while higher numbers of loans approved for house purchase simply reflect the banks' greater market share."

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' (Rics) chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn, said: "BBA figures demonstrate that mortgage approvals have risen for three consecutive months. Even so, the actual level of activity still remains not that far away from historic lows and it would be premature to conclude that some semblance of order has returned to the housing market.

"More needs to be done to ensure that the market is able to function effectively."

Personal deposits fell in February by £0.1 billion, after falling by £2 billion in January, the group said, as interest rates fell again. The annual rate of growth declined from 3.6 per cent to 3.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, annual growth in personal loans and overdrafts has turned negative - a net contraction in amounts outstanding - as consumers attempt to pay off their debts.

Credit card lending was also at a low level over the month, the BBA said.

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