23
Apr
Mortgage lending 'remained stable in March'
The flow of net mortgage lending remained broadly stable last
month, new figures suggest.
According to the Bank of England (BoE), the flow of lending for
home loan purposes was little changed from that registered in
February.
Meanwhile, gross mortgage lending rose over the 31-day-period, data
from the major UK lenders revealed.
In addition, mortgage approvals rose for the first time in three
months, the BoE noted.
However, demand for secured credit for house purchase was reported
to have fallen over the same time.
According to the Bank, this was largely due to one-off factors and
the trend is expected to be reversed over the next quarter.
Currently, the BoE is pursuing a cautious path with regards to the
base rate of interest in a bid to stimulate borrowing.
Its Monetary Policy Committee once again voted to keep it at 0.5
per cent this month and experts predict this could remain the case
for some time.
