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UK household appetite for mortgage borrowing and consumer credit slackens, shows data | UK household appetite for mortgage borrowing and consumer credit slackens, shows data |
(about 7 hours later) | |
The appetite of UK households for new mortgage-borrowing and consumer credit appears to be slackening, new data shows. | |
The UK Finance trade association reported on Friday that banks approved 40,488 mortgages for house purchase last month, the lowest monthly total since September 2016. | The UK Finance trade association reported on Friday that banks approved 40,488 mortgages for house purchase last month, the lowest monthly total since September 2016. |
The group also reported that the annual rate of credit-card borrowing dipped to 5.1 per cent, down from 5.5 per cent in September. | |
The growth rate of personal loan and overdraft borrowing fell further into negative territory, hitting minus 2.7 per cent, down from minus 2.2 per cent previously. | The growth rate of personal loan and overdraft borrowing fell further into negative territory, hitting minus 2.7 per cent, down from minus 2.2 per cent previously. |
Samuel Tombs of private equity firm Pantheon said the latest mortgage-approvals fall “appears to be just the start of a bigger downturn” for the housing market. | |
“The Chancellor’s decision to cut stamp duty for first-time buyers [in the Budget] won’t do much to counter this downturn, primarily because it will push up prices,” he said. | |
However, the consumer borrowing data is likely to please the Bank of England, which has become increasingly concerned about an increase in risky lending by UK banks. | However, the consumer borrowing data is likely to please the Bank of England, which has become increasingly concerned about an increase in risky lending by UK banks. |
The bank’s more comprehensive data on UK household borrowing will come out later this month. | |
Its last report showed that consumer credit was still growing at an annual rate of just below 10 per cent in September. | Its last report showed that consumer credit was still growing at an annual rate of just below 10 per cent in September. |
The bank raised interest rates for the first time in a decade earlier this month, to curb domestic inflationary pressures. | |
“It remains to be seen whether the Bank of England’s interest-rate hike will have a marked dampening impact on consumer borrowing,” said Howard Archer of the EY Item Club. | |
“While the increase was just 25 basis points and interest rates are still at historically very low levels, a number of consumers could be vulnerable given high borrowing levels. There may also be a psychological impact on potential borrowers given that it was the first interest-rate hike since 2007.” | |
UK economic growth since the 2016 Brexit vote has largely been sustained by household consumption, which has itself been propped up by consumer borrowing. | UK economic growth since the 2016 Brexit vote has largely been sustained by household consumption, which has itself been propped up by consumer borrowing. |
The latest UK Finance data also showed that there was a net outflow of £1.5bn from people’s cash ISA deposits in October, the largest fall on records going back to 2010. | |
GDP growth in the third quarter of 2017 was confirmed by the Office for National Statistics this week at 0.4 per cent, with household spending, again, driving activity. | GDP growth in the third quarter of 2017 was confirmed by the Office for National Statistics this week at 0.4 per cent, with household spending, again, driving activity. |