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Mortgage borrowing jumps in June as approvals edge up


By Goran Nastic

Mortgage borrowing by UK households more than doubled in June as net lending rose to £7.7bn from £3.3bn in May, while mortgage approvals for house purchases increased to 58,200 from 56,600, according to the Bank of England's (BoE) latest Money and Credit report.

Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals was above the previous six-month average of £4.9bn, the BoE said


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Semi-commercial lending to top £1bn in 2026 - TAB

UK semi-commercial mortgage lending is on course to exceed £1bn for the first time in 2026, as the mixed-use market expands, according to a new mortgage index from TAB

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Cash ISA balances jump £38bn during 'ISA season'

Adult cash ISA balances increased by £38bn between the end of January and the end of May as savers rushed to maximise tax-free savings ahead of the planned reduction in the annual cash ISA allowance, new analysis has revealed

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Three in five Primis brokers expect BoE base rate to increase in H2

Nearly three in five (59%) Primis brokers expect the Bank of England (BoE) to raise the base rate during the second half of the year

Bridging lenders told to embrace electronic signatures

Loans Warehouse has called on bridging lenders to embrace using electronic signatures, following a decade of investment in better technology, streamlined underwriting and faster decision-making

Pure Retirement

FCA secures majority of victims’ money back from convicted fraudster

Victims of convicted fraudster, John Burford, are set to recover most of the money they invested after the FCA obtained a confiscation order against him
No-deposit mortgages cost London FTBs £73k more over five years

No-deposit mortgages could leave London's average first-time buyer (FTB) paying more than £73,000 extra in interest during the first five years of homeownership compared with buying with a traditional 15% deposit, according to research from Benham and Reeves.

Pure Retirement

HMRC recovers £1.36bn from IHT investigations

HMRC recovered more than £1.36bn in unpaid inheritance tax from investigations over the past five years, figures obtained by NFU Mutual have revealed

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HMRC recovers £1.36bn from IHT investigations

HMRC recovered more than £1.36bn in unpaid inheritance tax from investigations over the past five years, figures obtained by NFU Mutual have revealed

Retirees hit with £87m tax bill after cashing in pension pots

Retirees who fully withdrew pension pots worth £100,000 or more paid at least £87.2m in income tax over six months, up more than 20% year-on-year, according to Standard Life analysis of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) data

HMRC crypto tax settlements top £8.3m as compliance crackdown gathers pace

HMRC has agreed more than £8.3m in tax settlements with 502 crypto investors over the past two years, as the government body steps up scrutiny under new OECD rules, according to data obtained by compliance provider Identomat

Income tax rise could pull a million more people into tax net

An additional one million people are forecast to pay income tax in 2026-27 compared with 2025-26 as frozen tax thresholds continue to increase the tax burden, according to research from the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA). The group's calculations showed that an extra 500,000 people will pay the basic rate, 410,000 more the higher rate and 70,000 more the additional rate, while the number of over 65s in pension paying income tax is expected to rise by 630,000 to 10.2 million

FCA secures majority of victims’ money back from convicted fraudster

Victims of convicted fraudster, John Burford, are set to recover most of the money they invested after the FCA obtained a confiscation order against him

FCA decides to ban father and son following fraud and misuse of client money

The FCA has decided to ban a father and son from UK financial services after the High Court found that they had engaged in fraud and misused client money

Industry reacts to Andy Burnham’s new cabinet

Andy Burnham was appointed as Prime Minister yesterday, ushering in a new cabinet and potential changes to financial policy. Burnham, who replaces Keir Starmer as PM and Labour leader, has put forward his intentions to publish a 10-year plan, and has already announced plans to cut VAT on residential energy bills from 5% to zero from October

FCA cracks down on illegal promotions in first year of new strategy

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has led an international crackdown in illegal finfluencer promotions in the first year of its five-year strategy

62 million adult savings savings accounts fail to beat inflation, study finds

More than £502bn held across 62 million adult savings accounts is earning 2.5% interest or less, leaving millions of savers losing money in real terms as returns fail to keep pace with inflation, according to analysis of CACI data by savings app Spring

Halifax brand to disappear after 173 years

Lloyds Banking Group has today confirmed that the Halifax brand will change to Lloyds. Existing Halifax customers will start to use the Lloyds app in the coming months and will see their accounts rebranded to Lloyds over time. As part of this change, the Halifax brand will stop opening new accounts

£227bn sits in £10k+ current account balances earning no interest

More than six million current accounts pay no interest despite holding balances of £10,000 or more, with a combined £227bn in deposits, Spring has revealed

Bank of England base rate held at 3.75%

The Bank of England (BoE) has announced that interest rates will be held at 3.75%, the lowest bank base rate (BBR) since February 2023. The central bank's latest decision, which had been widely anticipated by economists, comes after inflation remained unchanged at 2.8% in May

M&G completes £100m Miller pension buy-in with BPA Plus

M&G has completed a £100m bulk purchase annuity (BPA) transaction for the Miller Retirement Benefits Scheme, securing the pension benefits of around 550 members of the scheme sponsored by Miller Insurance Services LLP

Pension pots valued up to £31bn yet to be claimed

An estimated 3.3 million pension pots, valued at a combined £31.3bn, are unclaimed by millions of Brits, thimbl has stated

Grandparent support could cost retirees an extra £58k in pension savings

Grandparents expecting to provide regular financial support to their grandchildren could need an extra £58,000 in pension savings to maintain a moderate standard of living in retirement, analysis by Skipton Building Society has found

Rolls-Royce Pension Fund completes £4.3bn buyout transition with PIC

Rolls-Royce UK Pension Fund has completed the buyout of all 36,000 members of the scheme to Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), nine months after agreeing a £4.3bn full buy-in with the scheme’s trustee

Three in five Primis brokers expect BoE base rate to increase in H2

Nearly three in five (59%) Primis brokers expect the Bank of England (BoE) to raise the base rate during the second half of the year

Cash ISA balances jump £38bn during 'ISA season'

Adult cash ISA balances increased by £38bn between the end of January and the end of May as savers rushed to maximise tax-free savings ahead of the planned reduction in the annual cash ISA allowance, new analysis has revealed

Stone Point Capital completes investment deal with Amber River

Private equity firm, Stone Point Capital, has completed its partnership deal with Amber River to invest in the wealth management and advice company

Financial planning ‘needs to evolve’ as 100-year life becomes more common

Financial planning needs to evolve as the 100-year life becomes increasingly common and 45-75 year olds redefine later life, a report from RBC Wealth Management has argued

Bridging lenders told to embrace electronic signatures

Loans Warehouse has called on bridging lenders to embrace using electronic signatures, following a decade of investment in better technology, streamlined underwriting and faster decision-making

AI use among financial advisers rises by 31 percentage points in a year

The proportion of UK financial advisers using artificial intelligence (AI) has increased by 31 percentage points over the past year, analysis from Intelliflo has revealed

Over half of adults would use AI for money decisions but not for final call

Over half (55%) of adults receiving financial advice will accept AI playing a role in the process, but only if a human makes the final decision, deVere Group has found

Finova launches AI mortgage application agent

Finova has launched what it claims is the UK's first 'whole-of-market' AI-powered mortgage application service, aiming to cut administration for brokers by automatically completing applications across lender portals from a single set of customer information

News in brief - 29 July 2026

Today's round up of developments coming out of the consumer finance space, featuring United Trust Bank, The Equity Release Council, One Mortgage System and ONP Solicitors

News in brief - 28 July 2026

Today's round up of developments coming out of the consumer finance space, featuring Broker Conveyancing, Family Building Society, Recognise Bank, Twenty7tec and Mortimer Street Capital

News in brief - 27 July 2026

Today's round up of developments coming out of the consumer finance space, featuring Just Mortgages, April Mortgages, Afin Bank, TPT Retirement Solutions, Black & White Bridging and Darlington Building Society

News in brief - 24 July 2026

Today's round up of developments coming out of the consumer finance space, featuring Mortgage Brain, Chartwell Mortgage Services and RAW Capital Partners

BLOG: Royal London Equity Release: How high-net-worth individuals could benefit from releasing equity with the exclusive Premier product offering

In February 2026, we were recognised at the MoneyAge Mortgage Awards, taking home the title of ‘Later Life Lender of the Year’, with judges highlighting our rapid distribution growth, extensive adviser engagement and meaningful product enhancements. As an equity release provider, our approach is rooted in a holistic view of retirement, aiming to provide good customer outcomes with backing from the UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment company* – but what can we offer you and your clients?

BLOG: Are added-value services the key to engaging clients in protection?

Scottish Widows Protection Director, Rose St Louis, discusses how reframing protection conversations can help to engage clients

BLOG: Award-winning lending, built brick by brick

Saffron for Intermediaries discusses its latest lending offering on the MoneyAge blog

BLOG: Doing Good is Good Business

MoneyAge Awards winner Bespoke Advice discusses the key fundamentals of good financial planning in our latest blog piece

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