Home loans dip while consumers repay debts

There were 47,372 home loans approved in August, some 974 fewer than in July. There has now been a drop in the last four consecutive months. Mortgage approvals by mutuals also showed a decline in August with around £1.8bn loans approved, below the £1.9bn in July. Meanwhile, UK consumers repaid more unsecured debt than they took out in new loans last month, the BoE said. Net consumer credit, which includes credit card borrowing and overdrafts, dropped by £120m, the biggest drop since November 2009. The figures come after the Bank's deputy governor, Charlie Bean, suggested savers ...