A total of £93m in new business was conducted in the second charge mortgage market during March, a 14% drop from a year ago, according to new data published by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA).

The association revealed that the figure represented 2,050 new second charge mortgage agreements during the month, also representing a 14% fall.

The latest numbers for the second charge mortgage market contrast with the FLA’s data for February, which had shown a 9% increase in the total of new business, and a 13% rise in the total of new agreements.

In the three months to March, however, the new data showed there had been 6,653 new agreements in the second charge market, worth £304m in new business, representing rises of 2% and 4% respectively from a year ago.

FLA head of consumer and mortgage finance, Fiona Hoyle, commented: “The disruption caused by the lockdown in March led to falls in second charge mortgage new business of 14% by both value and volume compared with March 2019.

“New business volumes in Q1 2020 as a whole increased by 2% compared with the same quarter in 2019.
 
“Lenders are continuing to do all they can to support customers during this challenging period, and customers experiencing payment difficulties should contact their lender as soon as possible.”

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