· Building society gross advances amounted to £2,682 million in January 2005, decreasing from £3,464 million in January 2004.
· Net advances were £744 million in January 2005, down from £1,298 million in January 2004.
· Approvals (loans agreed, but not yet made) decreased to £2,037 million in January 2005, from £2,612 million in January 2004.
· In the savings market, building societies had net outflows of
£299 million in January 2005, down from net inflows of £94 million in January 2004.
· Building society net receipts into cash ISAs were £41 million in January 2005.
Commenting on the mortgage market, Adrian Coles, Director-General of The Building Societies Association, said: "These figures are no surprise; we are now experiencing the widely predicted market slowdown, compared to a year ago. However it is notable that over the last three months lending has been broadly stable * a good indication that fears
of a sudden crash are overstated."
On the savings side Mr Coles said: "For many years the January
figures have been affected by the repayment of credit card bills
inflated by Christmas spending. This year is no different. However, the position will improve, as consumers still seem to prefer cash savings accounts to equities. The new ISA season, and the introduction of Child Trust Funds will further boost the figures in the spring."
