Other key statistics for Q4 2012 are as follows:
- The total value of outstanding loans at the end of Q4 was £1,229bn, an increase of 0.1% on last quarter.
- New advances in the quarter amounted to £39bn, a decrease of 0.5% from last quarter and some 2% lower than in Q4 last year. £152bn of new advances were made in total in 2012.
- The overall average interest rate on new advances decreased from 3.89% last quarter to 3.81% in Q4. This was largely the result of a fall in the rate for fixed rate lending.
- New commitments totalling £37bn were made in the quarter, 3% higher than in Q3 but 0.4% lower than in Q4 last year.
- Lending for house purchase accounted for two-thirds (66%) of new advances for the second successive quarter. The proportion of advances for remortgages rose in the quarter to 28%, though was lower than Q4 last year (32%). Commitments for house purchase fell back from 65% of the total in Q3 to 64% this time.
- The proportion of new lending done at an LTV of more than 90% remained just above 2%, as it had been throughout the rest of the year.
- The proportion of loans to borrowers with an impaired credit history continued to be below 0.3%, as it was throughout 2012.
- There were 35,000 new arrears cases in Q4, a fall of 3% from last quarter but some 1% higher than in Q4 last year.
- The total number of accounts in arrears at the end of the quarter fell by less than 1% in Q4, from 303,200 in Q3, to 301,800. This was a reduction of 4% over the year from the 313,200 accounts in arrears at the end of 2011.
- The proportion of the residential loan book that is in arrears, and hence not fully performing, decreased to 2.44%.
- Arrears totalling £33m on 8,787 accounts were capitalised in Q4.
- The number of new possessions in the quarter fell by 8% to 7,836. Overall, there were 34,583 cases taken in to possession in 2012.
