Lending to individuals rose by £1.4 billion in March

Within total lending, lending secured on dwellings rose by £1.0 billion, in line with the previous six-month average increase. The three-month annualised and twelve-month growth rates were unchanged at 1.1% and 0.8%.

Gross lending secured on dwellings was £12.7 billion in March, compared to the previous six-month average of £12.4 billion. Repayments in March were £11.6 billion, in line with the previous six-month average.

The number of loan approvals for house purchase increased in March but was lower than the previous six-month average. The number of approvals for remortgaging also increased in March but was lower than the previous six-month average. The number of approvals for other purposes was down slightly in March and was also lower than the previous six-month average.

Consumer credit rose by £0.4 billion in March, compared to the previous six-month average increase of £0.3 billion. The twelve-month growth rate was unchanged at 2.1%. Within consumer credit, both credit card lending and other loans and advances increased by £0.2 billion in March.

Paul Aitken CEO of borro comments on today's Bank of England data on lending to individuals:

"Today's data from the Bank of England has revealed that lending to individuals has risen by £1.4 billion in March, compared to the previous six month average increase of £1.3 billion. With figures for lending rising, this is of course somewhat good news to consumers who appear to be able to access more credit.

"However, there is still a great deal of economic uncertainty in the UK at present, with the country now slipping into a double dip recession. 30% of small businesses consistently operate on their full overdraft facility and consumers including small business owners, the self-employed continue to find it difficult to access money from high street lenders. 

"borro's own data has shown a significant increase in the number of people looking for alternative forms of lending and we have seen a 308% increase in funded loans for Q1 2012 vs. the same period last year, we expect this trend to continue for the rest of the year."