BBA: Lending falls further

Lending levels reached a record low in June, according to the latest statistics from the British Bankers Association (BBA).

Total lending hit £3.8 billion, which is a significant reduction from the £4.5 billion figure in May, with the number of mortgage approvals also falling 66.4 per cent compared with the same month last year.

The annual fall was the biggest since BBA records began in September 1997 and shows that the downturn in the housing market is accelerating.

David Dooks, statistics director at the BBA, chose to emphasis the positives from the BBA's findings.

He said: "Even in this rapidly slowing market, net lending has still grown by 12 per cent over the past year and there continue to be significant numbers of people re-mortgaging with the banks."

Re-mortgaging accounted for a record 55 per cent of mortgages approved in June while just 19 per cent of mortgages were approved for house purchases.

Mortgages News posted on 23/07/2008 15:59:27