U.K. mortgage lending at its highest in three years

LONDON: British mortgage lending rose by 9.830 billion pounds in November 2006, the highest amount in more than three years, according to Bank of England Thursday. This is comparable with a downwardly revised 9.705 billion pound rise in October.The increase is in line with analysts' expectations and indicates that housing market continues to be strong in spite of the interest rate hike in the past and a possible rise in the immediate future. The bank said mortgage approvals rose to 129,000 in November, which is also the highest since December 2003. Total lending also rose by 10.9 billion pounds during the month, which is the highest rise since July 2004.

Growth in unsecured lending, however, eased slightly to 1.043 billion pounds from 1.101 billion in October.The central bank had raised interest rates to 5 per cent in November after an earlier hike in August. Economists predict the bank will effect a quarter-point rise again in February.According to the bank's figures, the total amount of money owed by citizens in the country stands at 1.278 trillion pounds. Of this, 1.066 trillion pounds is in the form of mortgages. Credit card borrowing, other bank loans, overdrafts and hire purchases account for 212 billion pounds. The bank said consumer credit is now growing at its slowest rate since 1994 when statistics were first published.