Investing.com – Net lending to individuals in the United Kingdom grew faster than expected in February, a Bank of England report showed on Monday.
Total net lending to individuals rose by GBP 2.1 billion during the month, the central bank said, up from GBP 2 billion in January. Economists had expected the figure to come in at GBP 1.8 billion.
The twelve-month growth rate in lending ticked up to 0.9% and the three-month annualized growth rate was 1.5%, a 0.2% increase on January, the bank said.
According to the report, the number of loan approvals for house purchase (47,094) was lower than the January figure (48,099) and below the previous six-month average (55,130).
But approvals for remortgaging (27,297) were higher than in January and also higher than the previous six-month average, while approvals for other purposes (25,017) were higher than in January but still below the previous six-month average.
Following the release of the data, sterling was up against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD surging 0.8% to hit 1.5017.
Total net lending to individuals rose by GBP 2.1 billion during the month, the central bank said, up from GBP 2 billion in January. Economists had expected the figure to come in at GBP 1.8 billion.
The twelve-month growth rate in lending ticked up to 0.9% and the three-month annualized growth rate was 1.5%, a 0.2% increase on January, the bank said.
According to the report, the number of loan approvals for house purchase (47,094) was lower than the January figure (48,099) and below the previous six-month average (55,130).
But approvals for remortgaging (27,297) were higher than in January and also higher than the previous six-month average, while approvals for other purposes (25,017) were higher than in January but still below the previous six-month average.
Following the release of the data, sterling was up against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD surging 0.8% to hit 1.5017.