BBA figures show lending to be subdued

The number of approvals for house purchase remained low while those for other purposes were similar to September. Consumer credit was subdued, rising by just £0.3bn, and personal deposits were flat.

BBA statistics director, David Dooks, said of the latest data: “The high street banks provided almost £12bn, or two-thirds of all new mortgages, in October. They also increased lending to non-financial companies by £1.4bn and heavily supported financial intermediaries (at the time Government was announcing its financial support for the banking industry). That support, together with lower interest rates, will feed through to lending and yesterday’s Pre-Budget Report measures will help consumer demand.

Comparison of current lending levels with last year is obscured by the very different economic conditions that exist now, reflecting a much reduced appetite for borrowing. Mortgage approvals remained low, consumer credit was subdued and people used their deposits to fund spending in October.”