UK mortgage approvals down 3 pct in May vs April, 17 pct yr-on-yr - BBA UPDATE
Monday, June 27, 2005 9:19:53 AM
afxpress.com
(Updating to add figures for personal loans and overdrafts lending)
LONDON (AFX) - UK mortgage approvals fell 3 pct in May from April and were down 17 pct on a year earlier, according to figures released by the British Bankers Association
There were 186,442 mortgage approvals in May, with a total value of 16.5 bln stg. The average approval for house purchase was 125,400 stg, the BBA said
Mortgage lending figures showed a very modest increase, however, suggesting that the UK housing market appears to be have stabilised
"Levels of loan approvals fluctuate with seasonal patterns, but the volumes we are seeing suggest that a fairly stable lending picture will continue in the near term," said David Dooks, BBA director of statistics
Seasonally-adjusted net mortgage lending -- gross lending minus repayments -- rose 4.3 bln stg in May compared with 4.0 bln stg the previous month
Despite the increase however, the latest figure remains below the average rise of 4.5 bln stg over the past six months, the BBA said
Gross mortgage lending totalled 14.3 bln stg in May, up 2 pct from April but 8 pct lower than May 2004
"Whilst mortgage lending was slightly stronger in May, it is noticeable that all measures were below comparable data a year earlier, when May was a relatively weak month," Dooks said
Meanwhile, within consumer credit, credit card lending rose 117 mln stg, slightly up on the average of the previous six months but remaining weak, reflecting the subdued retail sales environment, Dooks said
New lending on personal loans and overdrafts was well up on both April and the average for the previous six months, however, the BBA said
Net new lending on personal loans and overdrafts rose by 723 mln stg on a seasonally adjusted basis in May, considerably higher than both April's rise of 426 mln stg and the average rise of 597 mln stg over the previous six months |
