Gross mortgage lending in January was down on the previous month but better than one year ago, according to latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

There was estimated £9.2 billion of gross mortgage lending in January, a 13% fall from £10.6 billion in December but a 5% rise from £ 8.8 billion in January 2010.

The CML says this is the first year-on-year increase since August 2010 however, it warns that comparisons with the beginning of last year are distorted as some households brought forward house purchase activity in the closing months of 2009 to take advantage of the stamp duty concession expiring at the end of the year.

CML economist Peter Charles said: “The Bank of England’s Inflation Report this week noted that the UK banks face a significant funding challenge over the next couple of years: in total