BBA: Mortgage lending slows

Mortgage lending continued to slow at the start of 2006, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).

During January, net mortgage lending rose by an underlying £4.6bn. This figure excludes redemptions and repayments.

This figure was lower than the £5.3bn rise in December, but only slightly below the average of +£4.7bn over the previous six months the BBA added.

David Dooks, BBA director of statistics, said: “The underlying rise in mortgage lending was close to trend in January, suggesting that stronger growth towards the end of 2005 may not have established a sustained upturn in lending.

A stronger rise in consumer borrowing, largely through loans and overdrafts, was seen in January, but followed very subdued growth in the previous couple of months, so again this should not be viewed as a sign of changing demand for unsecured borrowing, particularly with reported retail sales being weak.”