Bankers seized on fresh evidence that the housing market may be starting to cool to urge the Bank of England to stay its hand and refrain from widely expected curbs on mortgage lending tomorrow.
The British Bankers’ Association described new data yesterday showing that mortgage approvals fell for the fourth month running as “significant” and argued that no substantive new measures were needed to take the heat out of the housing market.
The latest evidence comes on the eve of the keenly awaited decision from the Bank’s financial policy committee, which is expected to announce new macroprudential measures to cool mortgage lending.
One senior banker told The Times that the latest evidence of a pause in the housing recovery should be enough to prevent the