Mortgage lending rises at mutuals

Building societies and other mutuals stepped up mortgage lending by around 20 per cent in October, figures have revealed.

A new report from the Building Societies Association (BSA) shows that gross lending reached £2.3 billion during the month, up from £2 billion in October 2010.

The group said gross lending had increased by 15 per cent during the year to October, to a total of £19.1 billion.

BSA director-general Adrian Coles said: "With the Government recently announcing policies that highlight the importance of the housing market to the UK economy, building societies and other mutual lenders continue to play their part supporting homebuyers."

Meanwhile, savings balances held by building societies and other mutual deposit takers also increased by £0.4 billion compared with last year, with net receipts rising to £0.2 billion excluding interest.

The same month in 2010 saw balances decrease by £1.1 billion, with a net withdrawal of £1.3 billion.

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