Mortgage lending by building societies fell both in June and over the first half of this year as a whole, according to new data from the sector's trade body. Gross lending dipped by nine per cent from May and by 35.8 per cent year-on-year to £2.99 billion in June, figures from the Building Societies' Association (BSA) showed, while approvals were down by 36.3 per cent from June 2007 at £2.59 billion. This meant gross lending by building societies for the first half of 2008 totalled £21.49 billion, down by 8.4 per cent from the same period of 2007, with first-half approvals decreasing by a more rapid 33.1 per cent year-on-year to £17.63 billion.