UK Lenders To Tighten Credit Conditions In Q1: BoE Survey

RTTNews | 1332 days ago

(RTTNews) - UK lenders are set to tighten their credit conditions, applicable to both secured and unsecured lending to households in the first quarter of the year, the latest Credit Conditions Survey from the Bank of England showed Thursday.

Banks reported a fall in the availability of secured credit to households in the fourth quarter and they expect another fall over the first quarter.

Similarly, the availability of unsecured credit to households that include credit card and other unsecured lending, decreased in the three months ended November and lenders projected the availability to fall further in the next three months to February. Regarding credit to the corporate sector, banks said the supply remained unchanged in the fourth quarter, but it is set to drop only slightly over the coming quarter.

Further, the survey showed that demand for secured lending for house purchase is set to fall again in the first quarter. Overall demand for unsecured lending also decreased in the fourth quarter, and was expected to drop slightly in the first quarter.

Lenders observed that demand for corporate lending from small and medium-sized businesses fell in the fourth quarter, while demand from large firms was unchanged.

For small businesses, corporate lending is expected to remain flat, while lenders forecast a fall in demand from medium and large businesses.

With respect to loan pricing, the survey showed that lenders forecast spreads on secured lending to households to widen slightly in the first quarter.

Spreads on lending to small and medium-sized businesses were expected to be unchanged over the next three months, while for large firms they were expected to widen. The survey was conducted between November 21 and December 9.

In order to tame inflation, the Bank of England has lifted its benchmark rate over the last nine straight sessions to the highest since October 2008. Towards the end of the year 2022, the bank softened the pace of tightening.

The interest rate hikes has started to influence the property market activity and in turn overall economic activity.

Tags: GBP

UK Economy Expands Unexpectedly

The UK economy expanded unexpectedly in July as artificial intelligence and cloud computing boosted services output, official data revealed Friday. Gross domestic product posted a monthly growth of 0.4 percent, following an increase of 0.3 percent in June and no growth in May, the Office for National Statistics reported. GDP was expected to remain flat in July.

RTTNews | 1 day ago

UK House Prices Fall For First Time Since 2023

UK house prices declined for the first time since late 2023 in August, data published by Lloyds Banking Group showed Monday. House prices dropped 0.4 percent on an annual basis in July, marking the first decrease since November 2023. The drop followed a marginal 0.1 percent rise in July.

RTTNews | 5 days ago

UK Mortgage Approvals Lowest Since 2024

UK mortgage approvals declined to the lowest since early 2024, while consumer credit reached its highest level since late 2025, the Bank of England said Tuesday. The number of mortgages approved in July declined unexpectedly to 56,053 from 58,215 in June. This was the lowest since January 2024.

RTTNews | 11 days ago

UK House Price Growth Accelerates

UK house price growth accelerated in August despite economic uncertainties, data from the Nationwide Building Society showed Tuesday. House prices grew 1.6 percent on a yearly basis, faster than the 1.4 percent rise in July but weaker than economists' forecast of 2.0 percent. Month-on-month, house prices gained 0.2 percent, in contrast to the 0.1 percent fall in July.

RTTNews | 11 days ago

U.K. Inflation Rises On Household Energy Bills

U.K. consumer price inflation accelerated in July as the Middle East crisis stoked household energy prices, official data showed Wednesday. The consumer price index posted an annual growth of 2.9 percent in July, faster than the 2.6 percent rise in June, the Office for National Statistics said. This was the highest in four months and matched economists' expectations.

RTTNews | 24 days ago

UK Labor Market Shows Signs Of Cooling

The UK unemployment rate remained stable at 4.9% in the three months to June, while job vacancies fell by 6,000 and payroll employment declined 94,000 year-over-year, signaling weakness in the labor market.

RTTNews | 25 days ago

UK Q2 GDP Expands 0.4% On Household Spending, Investment

The UK economy grew 0.4% in Q2 as household consumption and gross fixed capital formation drove expansion. Household spending rose 0.3% while business investment climbed 1.7%. Government spending declined 0.3%, the Office for National Statistics reported.

RTTNews | 30 days ago

UK Lloyds House Prices Remain Unchanged

UK house prices stalled in July amid a more uncertain economic backdrop this year, data published by Lloyds Banking Group showed Friday. House prices posted a flat growth in July, following a 0.2 percent rise in June. Prices were expected to climb again by 0.2 percent.

RTTNews | 36 days ago

EURUSD	1.1598	GBPUSD	1.3518
USDJPY	153.62	USDCAD	1.387