Within this, lenders said that demand for prime lending increased significantly, with demand for buy-to-let lending decreasing slightly.
The survey was conducted before the EU referendum, therefore reflecting lenders’ expectations prior to the Leave outcome.
Lenders expected overall demand to increase slightly in Q3, but demand for buy-to-let lending was expected to fall again.
Overall spreads on secured lending to households — relative to Bank Rate or the appropriate swap rate — were reported to have widened in 2016 Q2, but lenders expected them to narrow significantly next quarter. Fees on secured lending decreased slightly in Q2 for the first time in a year.
Lenders reported that the availability of unsecured credit to households also increased significantly. The availability of other unsecured lending products, such as personal loans, appeared to increase further in Q2: credit scoring criteria continued to loosen significantly and the proportion of loan applications approved increased.
