Second charge mortgage lending remains 46% below January 2020

The data shows that the number of new mortgages taken out in January was 1,302, down 40% year-on-year.

In the three months to January, second charge lending totalled £193m, a decrease of 38% compared to the same period a year ago. The total number of plans fell by 30% to 4,685.

In the 12 months to January, new lending totalled £680m, 46% below the previous 12 months.

Fiona Hoyle, director of consumer and mortgage finance at the FLA, said: “The fall in new business volumes in January is not surprising given the lockdown restrictions currently in place. We expect demand in this market to increase significantly during 2021 as consumer confidence improves.”

Geraldine Kilkelly, director of research and chief economist at the FLA, added: “A strong recovery in consumer spending is expected in the second half of 2021 supported in part by household savings. Our latest research also suggests that the UK consumer credit market will return to growth this year, with new business expected to increase by 13% in 2021 as a whole, and the quarterly level of new credit to return to pre-crisis levels in the final quarter of 2021.”