Credit conditions make recovery
CREDIT availability improved from October to December last year, according to survey figures released by the Bank of England yesterday.
This contrasts with the plummet in availability from July to September. The net balance of lenders – the percentage of those saying “more” minus the percentage saying “less” – saying availability of credit to households had gone up was 7.8 per cent in the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, the net balance was minus 28.5 per cent. A sharp drop was expected in quarter three following the implementation of stricter mortgage lending rules.
“Although 2014 marked a restorative year for the UK mortgage market, the impact of tighter lending regulations meant availability of secured lending took a hit in quarter three,” said Brian Murphy, head of lending of the Mortgage Advice Bureau. “However, this recovered markedly by the end of the year, with lenders upbeat that credit supply will be maintained in early 2015.”
The demand for secured lending for house purchase scored a net balance of minus 46.1 per cent. It implies the number of lenders reporting falling demand vastly outweighed the number reporting otherwise. However, lenders taking part in the survey believe demand will pick up during this quarter.