Mortgage lending declines in February

Posted: 19 Mar 2009 13:07:42 GMT

Gross mortgage lending in the UK declined to £9.9 billion last month, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has announced.

The figure represents a 15 per cent fall from January, and a 60 per cent cut year-on-year.

It is also the lowest monthly lending total in eight years.

The director general of the CML, Michael Coogan, partly blamed the eroding of savings at National Savings and Investments, negatively impacting banks' ability to lend.

"There are now fewer active lenders in the market, but the government wants them to lend more," Mr Coogan said.

"At the same time, the government's own savings institutions is sucking away the funds that would enable them to do so. Until funding improves, the capacity of lenders to lend will remain constrained."

Despite the poor quantity of lending, it was noted that February is often a weak month for mortgage completion, with the CML predicting that the UK would still be on target for £145 billion worth of gross mortgage lending in 2009.


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