Economic Buzz: UK borrowing and deposits show mixed trends in February

Household mortgage borrowing rose to ?4.8 billion in February from ?4.2 billion in January, slightly above the recent average, while mortgage approvals for house purchases increased to 62,600 but remained just below the six-month average. Remortgaging approvals also climbed to 41,200.

Consumer credit borrowing edged up to ?1.9 billion, with credit card borrowing falling to ?0.8 billion and other loans, such as car finance and personal loans, rising to ?1.2 billion.

Businesses borrowed less overall, with private non-financial corporations taking ?2.6 billion in February compared to ?5.1 billion in January, although bank loan borrowing increased to ?4.3 billion.

Money supply (M4ex) rebounded strongly to ?10.8 billion after a negative ?7.3 billion in January, driven mainly by households adding ?5.8 billion to savings, including ?4.6 billion into ISAs.

However, overall lending to the private sector (M4Lex) fell to -?3.2 billion, mainly due to large repayments by financial companies, despite continued borrowing by households (?5.1 billion) and businesses (?2.6 billion).

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