The Building Societies Association says mutuals made £2.7bn of mortgage loans in November 2012 accounting for 21% of gross mortgage lending and in the first 11 months of 2012 mutuals lent £28.3bn of mortgages – 22% of the whole market.
Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage policy at the Building Societies Association, said: "Mortgage lending by mutuals increased substantially in 2012 based on the data we have published today for the first 11 months of the year.
“Mutual lenders accounted for a greater share of total gross lending in this period than over the equivalent period in 2011 showing that the sector has stepped up to the plate and supported many of those looking to purchase a home.”
In this period mutual lenders made over 61,000 loans to first-time buyers, up from 36,000 loans in the same period in 2011.
Net mortgage lending by mutuals was £0.6bn in November 2012. In the first 11 months of 2012 net lending by mutuals amounted to £6.2bn, out of £7.2bn across the market as a whole over this period.
Broadhead added that the new lending was broadly spread across all types of customers including first-time buyers and borrowers with lower levels of deposit.
Looking ahead to future completions, mutuals approved 24,800 new mortgage loans in November 2012 which was 19% higher than the 20,800 loans approved in November 2011.
Broadhead said: “Mutual lenders continue to offer some of the most competitive mortgages available on the market. The average mortgage rate available on new loans from the sector was 4.09% in November, well under the 4.32% average on offer across the market as a whole.
