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Labour is blamed as home loans slump
19.03.09
The Government was today accused of aggravating the slump in the housing market through “fractured policy” as mortgage lending crashed.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders said banks and building societies are struggling to issue home loans because savers are withdrawing deposits used to fund lending and putting them into state-owned National Savings and Investments.
Director general Michael Coogan said: “Banks and building societies have seen savings ebb away to NS&I, which has a negative impact on their ability to lend. This is yet another example of fractured policy. There are now fewer active lenders in the market, but the Government wants them to lend more. At the same time, the Government's own savings institution is sucking away the funds that would enable them to do so.”
The CML said mortgage lending amounted to £9.9 billion last month, down 15% from the £11.7 billion lent in January and 60% on February last year. Meanwhile, a CBI survey showed factory orders fell this month at the sharpest rate since 1992.
Reader views (1)
Labour started to kill the market with Hips in 2007 and have more or less finished it of now.Europe advised rest of EU that Energy Performance Certificates had to be in play by 2009. Labour decided to try and sell it as a 'green' policy by putting them in a Hip (the Home Condition Report was made voluntary) and make the housing market pay for them, apart from being worthless and causing 1000s of trees to be destroyed to produce the 4-6 page report to say nothing of having 1000s of DEAs driving around to do them what has rest of Europe done? - Nothing,Labour will only be happy when all markets have crashed and slowly but surely they are achieving this.Olympics will be final nail in UK coffin if allowed to happen at all
- Mike, London England
