LONDON (Reuters) – British lenders approved many more mortgages than expected in June and net unsecured lending to consumers shot up by the most in over five years, Bank of England data showed on Monday.
Banks and building societies approved 54,662 mortgages in June, the most since October 2022, Bank of England data showed on Monday.
A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to approvals of 49,000, after 51,143 mortgages were approved in May.
The BoE also reported a 1.66 billion pound ($2.13 billion) monthly increase in net consumer lending, the largest such increase since April 2018.
The increase was driven mostly by the “other” lending category, which comprises personal loans and car finance deals.
($1 = 0.7791 pounds)
(Reporting by Andy Bruce and David Milliken; editing by Sarah Young)
