Lender representatives at today’s MBE panel sessions were asked what their predictions were for 2013 lending figures; they plumped for between £140-£150 billion gross and approximately £10 billion net.
Aldermore’s Charles Haresnape said: “We expect to see a modest improvement in gross lending this year up to £135 billion. We are more optimistic about 2013 and believe we could see between £145-£150 billion. Funding for lending is improving liquidity to the market.”
Mark Snape of GE Money, was of a similar opinion: “We will go into next year with some momentum. The market seems a lot more competitive and Funding for Lending has had a favourable impact on the market.”
Sarah Green of Barclays said that the nature of the Funding for Lending scheme meant that lenders have to carry out more net lending otherwise they will get penalised.
The panel members also suggested that advisers and clients would start to see the benefits of the Funding for Lending scheme in the provision of more competitive higher LTV products.
Ralph Evans of Halifax, said: “Lloyds pulled down £1 billion from the scheme in September. We will start to see price movements in the higher LTV market.”
Richard Tugwell of Virgin Money, added: “We have been able to help 50% more first-time buyers than last year. Many intermediaries have commented to us that for the first time in a long time all of the big lenders are competing for business.”
