Bank publishes mortgage lending figures

Decreases in mortgage lending in the UK in October were less severe than many experts had predicted, new figures show.

Data from the Bank of England indicated that net lending to individuals in October amounted to £8.8 billion - down £2 billion on the September figure.

What's more, mortgage lending in the country dropped to 7.3 billion, compared to 9.5 billion the previous month.

The number of approvals for house purchase fell to 92,000 from 96,000 in September.

However, the Council of Mortgage Lenders' (CML) director general Michael Coogan commented: "The number of approvals for house purchase fell as expected, but not by as much as earlier evidence might have led us to anticipate.

"The situation is not as bleak as some of the more dramatic commentary would suggest."

Meanwhile, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said that these figures, and data from Nationwide which showed house prices had begun to slide, would put pressure on the Bank to cut interest rates.

"Today's data will strengthen the hand of the doves of the MPC ahead of next week's meeting and could just swing the balance in favour of an early cut in interest rates," explained Rics chief economist Simon Rubinsohn.

"This would provide some welcome relief particularly for first-time buyers who are feeling the full force of the credit crunch as lenders become more discriminating in their lending activity."

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