Bank of England data showed that lenders approved 62,341 mortgages, down from 65,340 in February and less than forecasts (64,850).

In cash terms, consumer credit increased by a net 549 million pounds in March, the smallest rise since November 2013 and following a 1.229 billion pound increase in February.

Annual growth in consumer credit slowed to 6.4 percent in March from 6.5 percent, marking the weakest growth since October 2014, the BoE said.

The BoE data showed net mortgage lending, which tends to lag behind approvals, rose to 4.120 billion pounds in March, up from 3.314 billion pounds in February.