Mortgage approvals down in November says BBA
The British Bankers Association (BBA) press release wednesday 28th December, headlined ‘November 2016 figures for the high street banks’.
Gross mortgage borrowing of £12.2bn in the month was 5% lower than in November 2015, while net mortgage borrowing is 2.4% higher than a year ago.
House purchase approval numbers fell 9% in November 2015 and in the first eleven months of 2016 were 4% lower than in the corresponding period of 2015.
Remortgaging approvals were 14% higher than those in November 2015 and in the first eleven months of 2016 were 13% higher than in the equivalent period of 2015.
Dr Rebecca Harding, BBA Chief Economist, said: “Consumer credit growth continues to be strong, despite falling back a little in November, reflecting strong retail sales in recent months.
“The reduction in interest rates in August may have boosted remortgaging approvals, with consumers looking to take advantage of the current economic conditions and lock-in lower interest rates.
“A corollary of a low interest rate environment is a growth in deposits and we’ve seen personal deposits, in particular, grow more strongly in recent months as consumers hoard cash in the absence of higher-yielding, liquid investment opportunities. This growth in personal deposits may also suggest that consumers are looking to grow their cash reserves against potential economic uncertainties, such as an expectation of lower wage growth.”
Read the BBA report released yesterday for November 2016 in full click here
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