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 The Bank of England announced on Monday that UK mortgage lending rose by its weakest margin on record in May and mortgage approvals were steady but weaker than that expected.

They said mortgage lending rose by £324m in May, a third of the level in April and a tenth of that a year ago. That was the weakest increase since comparable records began in April 1993.

The number of mortgages approved numbered 43,414 in May, just up from 43,191 in April, weaker than analysts’ forecasts for a reading of 46,000 and still pointing to house price falls ahead.

The BoE’s preferred measure of broad money supply growth, which excludes other financial corporations, was unchanged on the month, perhaps as companies paid down debt rather than invested in their business.

The figures show that credit remains tight and as such will likely add to expectations that the recovery from recession will be a protracted one.