Mortgage lending rose £0.8 billion in November, compared to a £1.2 billion increase in October according to the Bank of England, slightly above the previous six-month average of £0.7 billion.

However, the 12-month growth rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 0.8% and the three-month annualised growth rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 0.7%. The number of loan approvals for house purchase (48,019) was slightly higher than the October figure (47,315). Approvals for remortgaging (34,262) rose from October (30,429) and were higher than the previous six-month average (28,210), while approvals for other purposes (22,770) fell from October (23,425) and were lower than the previous six-month average of 24,149.

Consumer credit fell by £0.1 billion in November, compared to a £0.3 billion increase in October. The 12-month growth rate was unchanged at 0.6%. Within consumer credit, credit card lending rose £0.1 billion while other loans and advances showed a repayment of £0.2 billion.

Brian Murphy, head of lending at independent mortgage broker, Mortgage Advice Bureau, said: “The sharp increase in the number of remortgages shows that consumers are becoming far more wary of potential interest rate rises given the growing inflation threat. Increasingly