LONDON - British lenders approved far fewer mortgages than expected in December, according to Bank of England data on Tuesday.
There were 35,612 mortgages approved last month, compared with 46,186 in November. A poll of economists had pointed to approvals of around 45,000 in December.
Excluding the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the smallest number of approvals since the financial crisis.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by David Milliken)