Official figures show that mortgage repayments in the UK outstripped new lending for the first time since records began during July.
Home owners repaid £418m more than was advanced during the month as the credit crunch continued to restrict new lending by banks and building societies.
It was the first time that net lending has been negative since the Bank of England began collecting data in its current format in 1993. The steep fall in net lending was driven by the continuing fall in the amount building societies are advancing.
Separate figures from the Building Societies Association, also released today, showed that mortgage customers repaid £577m more during July than was lent, the seventh consecutive month during which the figure has been negative.
Many homeowners are taking advantage of record low interest rates to increase the amount they repay each month, contributing to July's negative figure.
