Mortgage approvals slip in January
New data has found that while mortgage approvals fell to their lowest rate in a year in January they are still much stronger than a year ago.
The British Bankers' Association said mortgage approvals - home loans agreed but not yet completed - totalled 45,039 last month, up 32% on a year ago but weaker than 51,233 in December.
The report is seen as a precursor to the official data on January home loan approvals to be published by the Bank of England on Wednesday.
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Last week the BBA said January's rise in seasonally-adjusted net mortgage lending was unrevised at £4.6bn, down from a rise of £5.3bn the month before, a figure it confirmed today.
The BBA said there were a total of 140,020 mortgage approvals, including remortgaging, in January with a total value of £12.7bn.
The BBA added that net lending on loans and overdrafts rose by £0.6bn in January, double the £0.3bn average of the previous six months, while net lending on credit cards rose by £0.1bn.
