Lloyds increases lending by 44%
Lloyds Banking Group advanced £19.8bn in gross mortgage lending in the first half of 2014, up 44% on the same period last year.
The group of lenders, which includes Halifax, Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland, has advanced more than £5.7 billion worth of new mortgages to almost 44,000 first-time buyers.
According to the Press Association: “The half-year figures were released as housing and planning minister Brandon Lewis said that almost 40,000 households bought a home through various schemes running under the Help to Buy banner designed to help people with small deposits.”