December's increase in net mortgage lending was above that of the month before but down on the recent average, according to new figures from the Bank of England (BoE). There was an £8.6 billion rise in net lending for December, compared to an £8 billion increase in November and an average rise of £8.8 billion over the past six months, while the annualised growth rate dropped from 10.3 to ten per cent. The value of approvals for house purchases was also down by 12.1 per cent from the month before and by 29.7 per cent on the six-month average at £10.2 billion, while the 73,000 loans approved was down from November's 81,000.