BoE Financial Committee Warns on Housing Market Risks

The Bank of England is continuing to closely monitor the affordability of mortgages and the lending policies of banks after taking steps last week to cool the housing market.

The record of the November meeting of the financial policy committee, set up inside Threadneedle Street to spot bubbles in the financial system, shows that concerns about the housing market had risen since their last meeting in June.

“Committee members had become more concerned about the potential risks to financial stability that might arise from developments in the UK housing market,” the record said.

After the meeting the Bank announced last week that the flagship Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS), which supplies cheaper money to banks and building societies, would end a year early for mortgages to focus on small businesses.

The record of the meeting shows that Bank of England governor Mark Carney informed the committee – made of Bank of officials and external members – that he and the Treasury had agreed to amend the FLS to focus on business lending.

“The governor informed the committee that HM Treasury and the Bank agreed that an amendment to the FLS to remove the incentive for new lending to households would be sensible … committee members welcomed this,” the record states.

via theguardian.com

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