UK May mortgage approvals rise to highest since March 2014: BBA

[LONDON] Mortgage approvals in Britain rose in May to their highest level since March last year, according to data from the British Bankers' Association on Wednesday.

Approvals for house purchase rose to 42,530 from 42,020 in April, up around 4 percent compared with a year ago, the BBA said. "The numbers show that the property market remains buoyant after the general election," said Richard Woolhouse, chief economist at the BBA. "Personal borrowing by British families also seems to be strong - the uptake of personal loans and credit card borrowing is further proof of consumers' confidence." The BBA data are generally a good guide to trends in more comprehensive Bank of England lending figures due on Monday but do not include lending by mutually owned building societies, which accounts for almost a third of mortgages.

The latest BoE data showed mortgage approvals jumped by the most in more than six years in April.

REUTERS