UK Mortgage Approvals Rise in December

In a recent report released by the Bank of England, it was revealed that mortgage approvals for house purchases in the United Kingdom increased to 66,500 in December, up from 65,700 in November.

Remortgaging Approvals and Consumer Credit

Contrastingly, approvals for remortgaging saw a decline, dropping to 30,500 in December from 31,800 the previous month. Consumer credit also experienced a shift, standing at £1 billion in December, slightly up from £0.9 billion in November, with the annual growth rate for all consumer credit decreasing to 6.5%.

Changes in Personal Loans and Mortgage Debt

The effective rate on new personal loans to individuals decreased by 11 basis points to 8.85%. Meanwhile, individuals borrowed £3.6 billion of mortgage debt, indicating a robust borrowing activity in the housing sector.