According to the report from the Bank of England, net mortgage borrowing was £11.8 billion in March, the strongest since the series began in April 1993. 

Mortgage approvals for house purchase were 82,700 in March, lower than the recent peak of 103,100 in November 2020, but higher than in February 2020 (73,000). Economists had expected an increase to 92,300.

Individuals continued making net repayments of consumer credit in March (£0.5 billion). The effective rate on new personal loans remained low at 5.03%, compared to 7.03% in January 2020.

Households continued depositing significant amounts, with an additional £16.2 billion placed in March. Deposit interest rates remained at historically low levels.

Private non-financial companies repaid £6.2 billion of finance to capital markets in March, compared to a monthly average net issuance of £4.5 billion since March 2020. Net bank borrowing by small and medium sized businesses was £0.7 billion in March, whilst large businesses made net repayments of £1.4 billion.