New Mortgages in UK Hit New Record High

Banks in the United Kingdom (UK) have approved more than 100,000 new mortgages in November, data by the Bank of England (BoE) showed on Monday.

With 104,969 mortgages in November, rising by 98,338 compared to its level in October, this is the highest level recorded of new mortgage loans since the beginning of the financial crisis in August 2007, Reuters reported.

This comes despite worries of a slowdown in the British housing market, which started booming after the first lockdown imposed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, net consumer lending dropped by GBP 1.539 billion in November, falling by 6.7% on an annual basis, registering the biggest drop on record.