Finance
UK lenders approve more mortgages than expected in October, consumer lending cools
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 1, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 1, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
UK mortgage approvals exceeded forecasts in October, while consumer lending slowed. The Bank of England data highlights economic resilience amid fiscal uncertainty.
LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - British lenders approved more mortgages than expected in October, despite concerns about finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget, and consumer credit grew at a slower pace than in September, Bank of England data showed on Monday.
The BoE said 65,018 mortgages were approved in October, down from 65,647 in September and the lowest since May. Economists polled by Reuters had pointed to 64,200 approvals during the month.
Reeves raised taxes in last week's budget with higher levies on expensive homes among the measures announced last week.
The BoE's data showed approvals for people looking to re-mortgage fell by the most in October since February.
Net mortgage lending - which reflects completed house purchases - fell to a net 4.273 billion pounds compared with a rise of 5.223 billion pounds in September.
Simon Gammon, managing partner at Knight Frank Finance, said uncertainty about tax rises and a "steady drip of policy leaks" hit sentiment in the housing market.
"That said, the fall in approvals was small. Monthly transaction activity has been broadly in-line with pre-pandemic levels since the summer, which is a display of resilience given the weakening economy and the uncertain fiscal outlook. Aspects of that uncertainty have now passed and the Bank of England looks on course to cut the base rate in December."
The BoE's data also showed consumers borrowed at a slower rate ahead of Reeves' tax and spending plan.
Net consumer borrowing rose by 1.1 billion pounds ($1.45 billion) in October, less than the 1.35 billion-pound forecast in the Reuters poll of economists.
The increase was below September's 1.398 billion pound rise, leaving the annual rate of consumer credit growth unchanged at 7.2%, joint-highest since October 2024.
Official data published ahead of the budget showed a drop in retail sales and consumer confidence in October.
($1 = 0.7561 pounds)
(Reporting by Suban Abdulla, editing by Andy Bruce)
A mortgage is a loan specifically used to purchase real estate, where the property itself serves as collateral for the loan.
Consumer lending refers to loans provided to individuals for personal use, such as buying a car or financing education.
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom, responsible for monetary policy and maintaining financial stability.
Mortgage approval is the process by which a lender evaluates a borrower's application and creditworthiness to grant a loan for purchasing property.
Net mortgage lending refers to the total amount of new mortgage loans issued minus any repayments made during a specific period.
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