2021.02.0110:05:00UTC+00UK Mortgage Approvals Decline In December

UK Mortgage approvals declined moderately in December, the Bank of England said Monday.

The number of mortgages approved in December fell to 103,400 from 105,300 in November. But this was well above the February's level of 73,400.

Recent strength in approvals has more than offset the significant weakness earlier in the year.

House purchase approvals after having troughed at a record low of 9,400 in May, totaled 818,500 in 2020, the largest number in one year since 2007, data showed.

Approvals are likely to slump when the stamp duty holiday ends, but there are some tentative signs the drop might not be quite as severe as previously expected, Andrew Wishart, an economist at Capital Economics, said.

Net mortgage borrowing remained strong at GBP 5.6 billion in December, but slightly below GBP 5.7 billion in November.

Consumer credit remained weak in December with net repayments of GBP 1.0 billion. This followed a net repayment of GBP 1.5 billion in November.

Consumer credit was weak in 2020, with individuals making net repayments of GBP 16.6 billion, BoE said.

The M4 money supply grew 0.7 percent on month in December, taking the annual growth to 13.4 percent.