Net mortgage borrowing by individuals rose to £4.5 billion in November 2025

Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals increased to £4.5 billion in November 2025, the Bank of England said in its Money and Credit release published on 5 January 2026. That followed a decrease of £1.0 billion to £4.2 billion in October¹.

Gross mortgage lending decreased by £0.6 billion to £23.7 billion in November, while gross repayments decreased by £3.1 billion to £19.4 billion. The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending increased to 3.3% in November from 3.2% in October, the highest since January 2023, when it was 3.4%¹.

Net mortgage approvals for house purchase, which the Bank describes as an indicator of future borrowing, fell by 500 to 64,500 in November. Approvals for remortgaging, which capture only remortgaging with a different lender, rose by 3,200 to 36,600¹.

The effective interest rate, meaning the actual interest paid, on newly drawn mortgages increased for the first time since February 2025, to 4.20% in November from 4.17% in October. The rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages was 3.90%, up from 3.89%¹.

"Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals increased to £4.5 billion in November, following a decrease of £1.0 billion to £4.2 billion in October."

Consumer credit told a similar story. Net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals increased to £2.1 billion in November from £1.7 billion in October. Within that, net borrowing through credit cards was £1.0 billion, up from £0.7 billion, and net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit such as car dealership finance and personal loans rose slightly to £1.1 billion from £1.0 billion¹.

The annual growth rate for all consumer credit rose to 8.1% from 7.5%. The annual growth rate for credit card borrowing increased to 12.1% from 10.9%, the highest since January 2024, when it was 12.5%¹.

Measure	October 2025	November 2025
Net mortgage borrowing	£4.2 billion	£4.5 billion
Net consumer credit borrowing	£1.7 billion	£2.1 billion
Net credit card borrowing	£0.7 billion	£1.0 billion
Effective rate on newly drawn mortgages	4.17%	4.20%
Remortgage approvals	33,400	36,600

Source: Bank of England, Money and Credit, November 2025¹

Households deposited an additional £8.1 billion with banks and building societies in November, up from £6.7 billion in October. That was driven by £7.0 billion into interest-bearing sight deposit accounts, £5.1 billion into ISAs and £2.1 billion into non-interest bearing accounts, partly offset by withdrawals of £1.2 billion from interest-bearing time deposit accounts¹.

The effective interest rate paid on individuals' new time deposits decreased to 3.81% in November from 3.84% in October. The rate on the outstanding stock of time deposits was 3.36%, down from 3.37%, continuing a downward trend the Bank dates to September 2024. The rate on the outstanding stock of sight deposits decreased to 1.75% from 1.77%¹.

The net flow of sterling money, known as M4ex, was £15.3 billion in November compared with £8.8 billion in October, the highest since January 2025, when it was £25.4 billion. The Bank attributes this largely to households and non-intermediate other financial corporations increasing their money holdings by £8.1 billion and £6.1 billion respectively¹.

Why it matters for households

The figures describe the aggregate position of UK households, not any individual one. Net mortgage borrowing is the difference between what households borrowed and what they repaid, so a rise to £4.5 billion means the stock of mortgage debt grew by that amount over the month¹.

The effective rate on newly drawn mortgages, 4.20% in November, is the average actually paid on new loans completed that month, and it rose for the first time since February 2025. The rate on the existing stock of mortgages, 3.90%, is lower, reflecting loans taken out when rates were different. Anyone whose fixed term ends and who moves onto a new deal is affected by the new-business rate rather than the stock rate¹.

Falling mortgage approvals for house purchase, down 500 to 64,500, point to slightly fewer completions in the months ahead, while rising remortgage approvals, up 3,200 to 36,600, point to more borrowers switching lender¹.

On the savings side, the rate paid on new time deposits fell to 3.81% and the rate on the outstanding stock of sight deposits fell to 1.75%, so the interest earned on money already held in easy-access accounts continued to drift down¹.

Credit card borrowing grew at an annual rate of 12.1%, the fastest since January 2024, and the effective rate on interest-charging credit cards rose to 21.60% from 21.54%¹.