March usually shows a pick-up from February (the slowest month of the year), but the March figure was particularly strong and, after seasonal adjustment, fed through to a rise in net lending of almost £6.0bn.
* March also saw the usual annual increase in loan approvals. There were 269,300 loans approved, with a total value of £20.3bn. The rising proportion of loans approved for house purchase (36%, from 34% in February) and a rise in the average approval to £109,200 may be an indication of increasing activity in the housing market.
* Growth in net consumer credit was much stronger than in recent months, rising by £1.4bn (seasonally adjusted). The credit card element saw the strongest rise since September, while demand for personal loans and overdrafts increased.
David Dooks, BBA director of statistics, said:
"March saw mortgage demand step up a gear, in line with the usual seasonal pattern. As we expected from the number of loan approvals in February, new mortgage lending is returning to the levels seen in the second half of last year and looks likely to remain buoyant in the near term. Even allowing for seasonal factors, net lending edged up in March.
"Consumer credit strengthened in March. Though card repayment levels increased, credit card borrowing was strong, whilst lending through personal loans and overdrafts, relatively subdued of late, was also higher."
Mortgage Lending
* Boosted by the usual seasonal factors, March’s gross lending of £15,857mn was 17% higher than February’s total and compared with £12,846mn in March 2003.
* The seasonally adjusted rise in March’s net lending was £5,955mn, above the trend average of +£5,500mn over the previous six months.
* Compared to the same month a year earlier, March’s approvals of house purchase loans were 34% higher by number and 71% by value; though remortgaging loans were 2% lower by number, their value was 7% higher; and equity withdrawal loans were 3% lower by number, though 10% higher by value.
Consumer Credit
* New borrowing on credit cards totalled £8,323mn in March. This was higher than the previous peak of £8,223mn in December and, because repayments were also much higher, the seasonally adjusted increase in net lending, of £484mn, albeit strong, was not a new record.
* New lending on personal loans and overdrafts, at £3,602mn, picked up from the seasonally low February figure. After seasonal adjustment, the rise in net lending was £911mn, well above the average rise of £600mn over the previous six months.
