House lending bounces back after new rules July 23, 2014 MORTGAGE approvals were on the rise again in June, according to figures released yesterday, following the onset of a new bundle of regulations earlier this year. There were 43,265 mortgages approved for borrowers buying houses last month, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). This is up from May’s figure, but below the average of [...]
In graphs: UK mortgage approvals on the increase July 23, 2014 The number of mortgage approvals rose in June despite tighter lending restrictions and indications that the housing market might be cooling slightly. Analysts had expected a slight fall and a total number of 41,375. Instead, the seasonally-adjusted data from the British Banker's Association (BBA) shows that the number of approvals for house purchases was up [...]
UK mortgage approvals drop to 11-month low as market cools June 30, 2014 Bank of England figures confirmed yesterday that mortgage approvals dropped to an 11-month low in May, even as the actual amount of lending secured against property rose to the highest level since mid-2008. There were 61,707 applications approved during the month, a drop of more than 1,000 from April and down from the 75,901 in [...]
Letters to the Editor – 01/07 – Not a new normal, Best of Twitter June 30, 2014 Not a new normal [Re: Is Mark Carney right that the “new normal” for interest rates will be 2.5 per cent?, yesterday] Mark Carney has pointed to financial market expectations to support his assertion that the “new normal” for rates will be around 2.5 per cent. He is wrong. Financial markets do not forecast the [...]
UK mortgage approvals just fell to an 11-month low June 30, 2014 UK mortgage approvals fell to an 11-month low of 61,707 in May, according to the latest data from the Bank of England. That's considerably down from April's 62,806 approvals. That figure has been downwardly revised from an initial estimate of 62,806 approvals last month. Mortgage approvals have been trending downwards since hitting a 74-month high [...]
London Report: Mortgage lending down but price of houses still rising June 29, 2014 MORTGAGE approval numbers are expected to fall to a 10-month low of 62,000 for May, after the introduction of tough new rules in the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) in April. Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said: “This would be down from 62,918 in April, 66,563 in March and a 74-month high of 75,838 in [...]
Bankers report anaemic rise in business loans June 24, 2014 LENDING to businesses is rising sluggishly while the latest mortgage lending figures showed yesterday that the new regulatory efforts are helping to cool the growth of credit for housing. Figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) indicate that business lending has barely budged from its position a year ago, rising by only 0.3 per cent, [...]
Letters to the Editor – 25/06 – Mansion taxes, Best of Twitter June 24, 2014 Mansion taxes [Re: Balls unveils mansion tax and promises to hit the rich hardest, yesterday] While I agree that the purchaser of the £140m flat in Westminster ought to pay more tax than the inhabitants of an average-value property in the area, I disagree with the arguments put forth by Ed Balls regarding his mansion [...]
Mortgage approvals fall on introduction of tighter lending rules June 24, 2014 Mortgage approval rates showed an overall drop in the month of May, according to new data. Figures from the British Bankers' Association show that the combined figure of loans for purchase, for remortgage and other secured lending, was down both on last month and on May of last year. The fall is a relatively small [...]
House lending steady in June after new rules June 19, 2014 MORTGAGE lending held steady in June, with a new set of mortgage regulations helping to cool off the rapid growth of housing credit, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). During May, £16.5bn was issued in credit, only £8m less than was approved in April. Lending is still up 12 per cent on May [...]