Released today, lending and savings figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA) show that building societies accounted for over a quarter of new UK mortgage approvals in Q3 2019.

Building society mortgage lending Q3 2019

• Building societies hold outstanding mortgage balances of £333.9bn, a 23% market share, and up 5% on the 316.7bn at the end of Q3 2018.
• Gross lending was £15.9bn, a 23% market share, down 11% on the £17.9bn in Q3 2018.
• Net lending was £2.1bn, a 15% market share, and down 46% on the £3.9bn in Q3 2018.
• Building societies approved over 106,000 new mortgage loans, a 26% market share, but down 16% on the 126,000 loans in Q2 2018.

Building society savings balances Q3 2019

• Building societies hold savings balances of £291.0bn, a 19% market share, and up 4% on the £279.1bn at the end of Q3 2018.
• Savings balances increased by £1.3bn, a 12% market share, and down 65% on the £3.8bn increase in Q3 2018.
• Cash ISA balances grew by £0.5bn. Banks saw cash ISA balances fall by £0.4bn. Building societies have a share of 38% of all cash ISA deposits.

​​Commenting Robin Fieth, BSA Chief Executive said:

“Building societies captured a high market share of lending in the mortgage market in Q3 with 23% of gross lending, and over a quarter of new mortgage approvals. In addition, total mortgage balances are also up 5%.

“However, despite this strong performance, lending by building societies was lower in Q3 than it was in the same period last year. Trends across the market also point to weaker lending year on year. Uncertainty over the UK’s position with the EU has undoubtedly dented consumer confidence, and people are therefore less willing to make significant financial decisions, such as buying a new home. Consequently there are fewer properties coming on the housing market, reducing the demand for mortgage finance.  

“In the savings market, building societies took a lower share of new money from savers than in previous quarters. But people are saving more than they did last year thanks to wages rising faster than inflation, and the labour market remaining robust. This is helping to boost households’ financial resilience and should help people to save more in the coming months.”

Contacts

Hilary McVitty, hilary.mcvitty@bsa.org.uk Tel: 020 7520 5926 /07507 837 326
Amy Harland, amy.harland@bsa.org.uk Tel: 020 7520 5927

Notes to editors

Download building society mortgage lending figures here

Download building society savings figures here.