February saw 'increased secured loan activity'

The number of secured homeowner loans as well as other forms of lending went up over the course of February, it has been claimed.

According to figures from the Bank of England, £7.4 million more in net lending was recorded over the course of the month than in January.

Lending to individuals has slowed to 8.9 per cent growth over the last 12 months, the body added, although there was an increase of 0.1 per cent in the three-month annualised rate, which is now 7.9 per cent.

House purchase lending was down in February against January, with 73,000 loans approved, while there were 110,000 applications for remortgages accepted.

But the Bank added that lending for reasons other than buying property went up against figures from January.

This comes as research from Sainsbury's Bank has found that a number of Britons transfer around £1.1 billion between credit cards in the UK every month.

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