Mortgage approvals up in June

There were modest increases in gross and net mortgage lending as a result of more new home loans being approved in recent months, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).

Personal deposit inflows rose sharply in June but consumer credit was again subdued. Lending to other financial companies rose, while lending to non-financial companies remained weak.

BBA statistics director, David Dooks, said of the latest data: “Numbers of new home loans approved by the high street banks are recovering from the very low level last November and so far this year, gross mortgage lending has topped £50bn. After repayments and redemptions, the banks’ net rise in mortgage lending of £18bn in the first six months is in sharp contrast to lending by the rest of the market, which is still contracting. People are showing little appetite for unsecured borrowing and are generally keeping more money in their accounts.

“Borrowing by non-financial companies continues to be weak, either because funds raised on capital markets are replacing bank borrowing or because companies are seeking to withstand the recession by reducing their debt".