The assumption is that the more deals there are, the better the patient is, even though this is a rather simplistic measurement.
For example, it doesn’t take into account how easy it is to get these products.
If the majority require low LTVs, while extremely tight credit scoring remains on higher LTV deals, then a few hundred more of them won’t make much difference to many of those trying to get a mortgage.
The other crucial factor this number doesn’t take into account is how many lenders are offering these deals.
Since the downturn, it has remained the case that only a handful of lenders – six to be precise – have been doing any volume of lending in what is a very subdued market.
This number hardly suggests a competitive and thriving market.
This week the CML released lending data for last year, showing that Lloyds Banking Group, Santander, Barclays, RBS, Nationwide and HSBC were the biggest lenders in 2010, just as they were in 2009.
Between them they accounted for 81.5% of all lending, equal to just under £111bn. This was a slight decline from £119bn in lending in 2009.
The CML predicts that the final figures for 2011 will show the same six lenders at the top of the charts.
However, what is interesting, and encouraging, is that mid-sized lenders are finally starting to increase the volume of lending they are doing, a trend which is continuing throughout this year.
Those lenders ranked between ninth and 15th in the table undertook a total of £19.6bn in lending last year, nearly double their combined total of £10bn in 2009.
While these lenders are still a long way off what the big boys are doing in terms of volume of lending, they are taking a huge step in the right direction.
It is not hard to see how they are achieving it either.
A number of these lenders – including Northern Rock, Coventry Building Society, the Co-op, Yorkshire Building Society, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, Bank of Ireland, ING Direct, Leeds Building Society and Principality Building Society – have been regularly topping the best buy tables over the past 18 months with extremely competitive offerings.
They’re often more flexible than some of the bigger lenders, because their size makes them more nimble. This is great for competition and the overall health of the market.
There are also a number of new entrants in the top 30, which weren’t there in 2009, including Saffron, Cambridge and Market Harborough building societies, along with Aldermore Mortgages and Tiuta.
While the mortgage market is a long way off recovery, with lending remaining muted, it’s not all bad news.
There are definitely signs of increased consumer choice and market diversity, elements, which have always been vital to the health of the UK mortgage market.
Melanie Bien is director of Private Finance
