• Home
• /
• Business

UK mortgage lending falls to lowest since 2001

LONDON — Gross mortgage lending in Britain has fallen to its lowest level since February 2001 as the housing market remains subdued, the British Bankers Association said Tuesday.

---

---

Demand for unsecured credit also fell, reflecting consumers’ wariness about the economic outlook as the government moves to cut spending and employment.

Gross lending in October was 7.6 billion pounds ($12.1 billion), 16 percent lower than a year earlier, the association said. The value of loans for home purchases, however, increased by 2 percent to 144,900 pounds.

Net lending — stripping out repayments — was 1.7 billion pounds, down 43 percent from last year.

The BBA said demand for unsecured credit was down 1.7 percent compared to a year ago, although there was a slight increase in credit card lending.

Demand for unsecured credit was down 1.7 percent compared to a year ago, although there was a slight increase in credit card lending, the association said.

Meanwhile, the Nationwide Building Society, the nation’s No. 3 mortgage lender, said it expected house prices to decline modestly next year as more properties are put up for sale.

In the six months to Sept. 30, Nationwide said mortgage repayments exceeded new loans by 1.8 billion pounds.

Chris Gardner, a director at mortgage adviser Obligo, said the number of applications for mortgages had fallen in recent months.

He attributed that partly to consumer nervousness, and to decisions by banks to withdraw self-certified and interest-only mortgages.