Mortgage approvals 'on the rise'
The number of mortgages approved for house purchases rose at the end of last year, according to figures from the major UK banks.

But overall, mortgage approvals in 2009 were 27% lower than the previous year and the lowest since British Bankers' Association records started in 1997.

Some 45,897 home loans were approved for house purchases last month.

This showed the extent of the recent recovery in the mortgage market as it was double that of December 2008.

The association's statistics director David Dooks said the proportion of mortgages approved by the major UK banks had grown.

He said the squeeze on mortgage lending during the downturn had come from specialist lenders largely withdrawing from the market and a contraction in building society finance.

Gross mortgage lending by the High Street banks rose from £9.6bn in November to £10.2bn in December.

Source: BBC