Source: Sharecast
The latest Money and Credit report showed that mortgage approvals rose to 63,500 from 62,700 in February, beating expectations for a decline to 60,000. It was also above the six-month average of 63,200.
Net borrowing of mortgage debt increased to £6.2bn in March from £5.2bn the month before, while the effective interest rate - the actual interest paid - on newly-drawn mortgages dipped to 4.03% from 4.10%.
The report also showed that net borrowing of consumer credit nudged down to £1.9bn in March from £2bn in February, with borrowing through credit cards unchanged on the month at £0.7bn. Borrowing through other forms of consumer credit , such as car dealership finance and personal loans, was £1.2bn in March, down from £1.3bn the month before.
Households’ deposits with banks and building societies rose by £5.5bn in March, following net deposits of £6.2bn in February. The BoE said this was driven by households depositing an additional £4.4bn into ISAs and £3bn into interest-bearing sight deposit accounts.