These monthly statistics on the amount of, and interest rates on, borrowing and deposits by households and businesses are used by the Bank’s policy committees to understand economic trends and developments in the UK banking system. Key points: Net mortgage approvals for house purchases rose from 60,500 in February to 61,300 in March, the highest number of net approvals since September 2022. Conversely, net approvals for remortgaging decreased from 37,700 to 34,200 over the same period. The ‘effective’ interest rate – the actual interest paid – on newly drawn mortgages decreased by 17 basis points, to 4.73% in March. ... (full story)