Mortgages show signs of growth

By Perry Gourley
Published on 30/10/2012 00:00

A SPIKE in mortgage approvals has provided tentative evidence that a multi-billion pound scheme designed to unclog the flow of credit to UK homebuyers is starting to have an impact.

The £80 billion Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS), launched by the Bank of England and the Treasury at the start of August, makes money available to banks on the condition they pass it on in the form of cheaper loans and mortgages.

The number of loans approved for house purchase rose by 2,103 to 50,024 in September, while the number of loans approved for remortgaging increased by 1,860 to 28,343, the Bank of England said. Meanwhile, unsecured consumer credit rose by £1.2 billion in September, the sharpest rise since February 2008.