Mortgage approvals up in January

The increase in total net lending to individuals in January (£8.4 billion) was below the increase in December and the previous six-month average, according to figures from the Bank of England.

The twelve-month growth rate fell to 9.1% and the three-month annualised growth rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 7.7%.

Within the total, the increase in net lending secured on dwellings (£7.4 billion) was also below the increase in December and the previous six-month average. The twelve-month growth rate fell to 9.7%. The three-month annualised growth rate also fell, by 0.2 percentage points to 8.2%. The numbers of loans approved for house purchase (74,000), remortgaging (119,000) and for other purposes (60,000) were all higher than in December.

The increase in net consumer credit in January (£0.9 billion) was above that in December but below the previous six-month average. Net credit card lending rose by £0.1 billion, below the increase in December. Net other loans and advances increased by £0.8 billion, higher than the December increase. The annual growth rate of consumer credit rose by 0.1pp to 5.9%, but the three-month annualised growth rate fell by 1.4pp to 5.2%.