May's uplift in lending is hugely encouraging given everything else that is going on with the Eurozone crisis and a number of lenders reining back on the amount of lending they are prepared to do in response to this. But before we get carried away, the combination of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, Olympics and general summer lull means that lending should fall off again over the next few months.
The good news is that swap rates - the rates lenders pay to borrow from each other - have fallen to all-time lows in the past week, with two and three-year Swaps falling below 1 per cent for the first time and five-year Swaps approaching 1 per cent.
This should give lenders leeway to introduce some cracking short-term fixed-rate mortgages. Indeed, a number of lenders have already reduced their fixed rates in response to cheaper funding costs.
The announcement of emergency funding from the Bank of England to encourage lenders to do more lending to individuals and small businesses is positive but, as always, the devil will be in the detail. It is vital that any lending is available in the loan-to-value bands that need it. If funding will only be cheaper and easier for those with a 50 per cent deposit or similar level of equity, for example, there will be little improvement to the current situation.