Lenders grant 1.9 million mortgage payment freezes 

The trade body’s figures reveal that one in six mortgages in the UK have been granted a payment deferral, since the freezes were introduced as the lockdown started.

For the average mortgage holder, the payment deferral amounts to £755 per month of suspended payments. Customers were quick to take up the help on offer; 1.2 million deferrals were approved during the first three weeks of the scheme.

Many homeowners will soon be coming to the end of the deferral period and UK Finance said lenders are now focused on helping customers consider their next steps. The trade body said lenders will contact borrowers before the end of their deferral period with a range of options.

The range of ongoing support includes a further full or partial payment deferral, a move to interest-only payments for a period, or extending the term of the mortgage to reduce payments, depending on the borrower’s circumstances.

UK Finance also highlighted Treasury figures which show that more than 910,000 businesses have been granted emergency business loans.

The stats show lenders have provided £38.2bn through the three major government-backed lending programmes. Some £3.3bn has been approved to 83,000 businesses in the past week, with more applications expected to be approved in the coming days.

The industry has provided loans to over 860,000 businesses through the Bounce Back Loan scheme for small businesses, since the initiative was launched six weeks ago – an average of more than 140,000 approvals each week. These businesses have been approved for over £26.3bn in total, including £2.6bn in the last week.

Lenders have also approved an additional £550m through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme in the week since data was last published, reaching 1,600 businesses. In total, £10.1bn has been lent through the scheme to 49,000 UK firms.