Target comments on BoE Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics

10 September 2024

Following the release of the latest Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics from Bank of England, we have a comment from Target Group.

Melanie Spencer, sales and growth lead at Target Group, said: “It’s clear from today’s figures that borrowers have responded well to the positive changes in the market, as the value of both gross mortgage advances and new mortgage commitments increases. Growing competition among lenders off the back of movement on swap rates and the bank base rate has clearly helped put a potential move back on the radar for many people.

“While it is positive to see a drop in new arrears cases, mortgage balances with arrears continues to increase in value, while total arrears remain far higher than 12 months ago. Combine this with a rise in high LTI lending and an increase in higher LTV lending – albeit only marginally - and there’s no question that lenders will need to stay close to number of borrowers. A sensible approach to managing the loan lifecycle remains key, as well as both early remediation strategies and identifying vulnerable customers – particularly as Consumer Duty remains a priority for the regulator. This will continue to be the case even as the picture for the market and wider economy seems to improve.”