Mortgage approvals hit two-year high

The number of homebuyer mortgages approved by banks rose to a two-year high in December, figures showed today, but a continuing lack of remortgaging activity helped keep total lending down.

The figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) showed 45,897 loans were approved for house purchases during the month, slightly more than double the number approved in December 2008. However, the number of remortgages dropped by 63.3% year-on-year to 23,480.

Over the whole of the year, the BBA said its members had approved a total of 980,000 home loans, the lowest figure since records began in 1997 and 27% lower than in 2008.

Total mortgage advances rose by 6% in December, reaching £10.2bn, but the BBA said the figure was inflated by people rushing to complete purchases before the government's stamp duty holiday on properties costing up to £175,000 ended at the start of this year.

The BBA's statistics director, David Dooks, said: "The high street banks continued to lend substantial amounts in the weaker mortgage market of 2009, approving more than 440,000 loans for house purchase.

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"Their share of gross lending went up from a historical level of about two-thirds to three-quarters, due to specialist lenders largely withdrawing from the market and building society finance contracting."

The BBA's figures show that unsecured lending remained subdued in December and, while savings levels bounced back during the month, they remained weak for 2009 as a whole as consumers focused on paying down their debt.

New spending and repayments on credit cards were down by 9.9% and 9.2% respectively over the year, while demand for personal loans was particularly weak, with balances falling by £3.9bn over the course of last year.

Meanwhile, savings deposits increased by £23bn, compared with £25bn in 2008 and £28bn in 2007.

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