UK mortgage approvals fall to lowest since 2009, excluding pandemic

LONDON (Reuters) – British lenders approved the lowest number of mortgages in January since 2009, excluding a slump at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bank of England data published on Wednesday.

A total of 39,637 mortgages for house purchase were approved, down from an upwardly revised 40,540 in December.

A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to around 38,000 approvals in January.

(Reporting by William Schomberg; writing by David Milliken)