The Bank of England reported today that UK mortgage approvals fell in March to the lowest level in at least nine years as banks cut their loan advances in response to the credit crisis.

Banks granted 64,000 loans for house purchase, compared with 72,000 in February - the lowest since the series began in 1999.

The Bank said that the increase in total net lending to individuals in March (£8.2 billion) was below the increase in February and the previous six-month average. The twelve-month growth rate slowed to 8.7%, and the three-month annualised growth rate slowed by 0.1 percentage points to 7.7%.

Within the total, the increase innet lending secured on dwellings (£6.9 billion) was below the increase in February and the previous six-month average.  The twelve-month growth rate slowed further, to 9.1%.  The three-month annualised growth rate also slowed, by 0.4 percentage points to 7.5%.  The numbers of loans approved for house purchase (64,000), remortgaging (98,000) and for other purposes (57,000) were all lower than in February and lower than their previous six-month averages .

The increase in net consumer credit in March (£1.2 billion) was below that in February and below the previous six‑month average. Net credit card lending rose by £0.4 billion, in line with the increase in February. Net other loans and advances increased by £0.9 billion, lower than the February increase. The annual growth rate of consumer credit rose by 0.2 percentage points to 6.7%; the three-month annualised growth rate rose by 1.4 percentage points to 8.6%.