Mortgage approvals rise but consumers remain cautious Approvals for house purchase rose modestly to 33,634 from 33,128 in October according to the latest data from the British Bankers" Association, although it was fewer than the 34,500 forecast by economists. Net mortgage lending rose to £164m in November, which was low in historical terms as people chose to pay back loans amid a cautious outlook for the British economy. "Households are continuing to repay virtually as much as they borrow and, as people hold onto cash, deposits are growing by 6pc annually," said David Dooks, BBA statistics director. Consumers did spend more on credit cards last month, with an increase in net borrowing of £238m, but this was outweighed by a £295m net repayment in personal loans and overdrafts. "The further net repayment of unsecured consumer credit in November indicates that consumer appetite for taking on new borrowing is still limited while there is also an ongoing strong desire of many consumers to reduce their debt," said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight. Outstanding borrowing on personal loans is around half the level it was at the pre-crisis peak in late 2007. The BBA data also showed that lending to non-financial companies fell by £3.1bn in November, compared with a rare increase of £268m in October. It was the sharpest fall since June. "The sharp drop in lending to non-financial companies in November indicates that the [Government's] Funding for Lending Scheme is yet to have any positive impact in actually lifting bank lending to companies," said Mr Archer. He added that part of the story was low demand for credit among businesses, which remain wary about borrowing and investing amid heightened economic uncertainty.