Money and Credit – November 2025
Key points:
Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals increased to £4.5 billion in November, following a decrease of £1.0 billion to £4.2 billion in October.
In November, net mortgage approvals for house purchase fell by 500 to 64,500. By contrast, approvals for remortgaging rose by 3,200 to 36,600 in November.
Net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals increased to £2.1 billion in November from £1.7 billion in October. Within this, net borrowing through credit cards was £1.0 billion in November, up from £0.7 billion in October. Net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit (such as car dealership finance and personal loans) slightly increased in November, to £1.1 billion from £1.0 billion.
Private non-financial corporations (PNFCs) borrowed, on net, £5.8 billion from capital markets and banks and building societies in November, following net repayments of £4.8 billion in October.
The net flow of sterling money (known as M4ex) was £15.3 billion in November, compared to £8.8 billion in October, and the highest since January 2025 (£25.4 billion). This was largely driven by households and non-intermediate other financial corporations (NIOFCs) increasing their holdings of money by £8.1 billion and £6.1 billion respectively.
The flow of sterling net lending to private sector companies and households (M4Lex) was £15.5bn in November, compared to £13.3 billion in the previous month. November’s lending was driven by NIOFCs, households, and PNFCs borrowing £5.9 billion, £5.5 billion, and £4.1 billion respectively.
Lending to and deposits from individuals
Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals increased to £4.5 billion in November, following a decrease of £1.0 billion to £4.2 billion in October. In November, gross lending decreased by £0.6 billion to £23.7 billion, while gross repayments decreased by £3.1 billion to £19.4 billion. The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending increased to 3.3% in November, from 3.2% in the previous month, the highest since January 2023 (3.4%).
Net mortgage approvals (that is, approvals net of cancellations) for house purchase, which is an indicator of future borrowing, fell by 500 to 64,500 in November. By contrast, approvals for remortgaging (which only capture remortgaging with a different lender) rose by 3,200 to 36,600 in November.
The ‘effective’ interest rate – the actual interest paid – on newly drawn mortgages increased for the first time since February 2025 (4.53%), to 4.20% in November from 4.17% in October. The rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages was 3.90% in November, up from 3.89% in the previous months.
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