2 March 2026
If you’re covering the latest Bank of England money and credit statistics, please see the following comment from Ian Futcher, financial planner at Quilter:
“The Bank of England’s latest Money and Credit statistics reveal a housing market that’s stuck in a lull. Net mortgage borrowing came in at £4.1 billion in January, down from £4.5 billion seen in December and well below the previous six-month average of £4.1 billion. The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending also decreased slightly to 3.3% from 3.4% in December. House purchase approvals also fell to 60,000 in December, below the average of 64,100 over the previous six months, and remortgaging approvals decreased marginally to 38,100 from 38,400.
“These statistics, along with data out from Nationwide this morning that showed only a slight uptick in house prices, suggest most prospective buyers have kept their plans to move on hold as they await further downward pressure on mortgage rates. Affordability has been stretched considerably for several years now, but there are a few glimmers of hope for buyers. We are beginning to see lenders offer slightly more competitive rates as they vie for business and price in further BoE rate cuts, which has played out in today’s data with the effective rate on newly drawn mortgages lowering to 4.09% in January down from 4.15% in December. Should expectations of further rate cuts continue as we move through the year, mortgage rates should gradually lower. If this is the case, we could see buyer confidence lift, affordability improve, and more people look to move as a result.
“Households are continuing to plough money into savings where they can, and the combination of the end of the tax year nearing, as well as changes to the cash ISA allowance which will see cash ISA savings limited to £12,000 per year for under 65s from April 2027, appear to have driven a renewed interest in ISAs. Households added £4.2 billion to total deposits with banks and building societies in January, including an additional £5.2 billion deposited into ISAs.
“Elsewhere, however, households are continuing to rely on borrowing. Net borrowing of consumer credit rose to £1.8 billion in January, up from £1.7 billion in December, which included £0.9 billion in credit card borrowing. Given the annual growth rate for credit card borrowing sits at 12.3%, this is very expensive debt and shows just how much pressure many household budgets are still under.”
