This is a selection of the most frequently asked questions along with answers. If you require any further
assistance please contact us.
Please select from the titles below to go directly to the FAQs.
Monetary Aggregates (M4 and M4Lx)
Lending to businesses
Lending to Individuals
Write Offs
Gilts
Securitisation and Activity
Central bank’s balance sheet - Bank of England ‘Bank Return’ & ‘Weekly Report’
General
SECTION 1: Monetary Aggregates (M4 and M4Lx)
ex
1. What is the difference between M4 and M4 ?
ex
M4 excluding intermediate other financial corporations (OFCs) (M4 ) is a more economically relevant measure of
broad money than the wider measure of M4. It excludes the deposits of intermediate OFCs which are seen as
similar in nature to monetary financial institutions (MFIs). Please see Measures of M4 and M4 lending
excluding intermediate other financial corporations for further detail.
2. What is included in M4 lending?
M4 lending is sterling lending by UK resident MFIs to the UK resident private sector. For further details please
see Explanatory Notes.
3. What is the difference between 'loans' and 'lending'?
In general, ‘lending’ data cover both loans and securities, whilst ‘loans’ data exclude holdings of securities.
4. What is the difference between M4L and M4Lx?
Before January 2010, MFIs reported securitised loans off balance sheet, so when a securitisation happened with
a UK-resident SPV, there was a reduction in the flow and amounts outstanding of M4L.
In the current data, a similar effect is seen when MFIs transfer loans to entities outside the reporting population.
Because these are not genuine falls in private sector debt, the Bank also publishes a series excluding the effects
of securitisations and loan transfers (M4Lx). M4Lx is based on M4L, but the value of loans moving off balance
sheet is added back to the flow and amounts outstanding of M4L. Further detail can be found at Statistical
Reporting of Securitisations.
5. What is the difference between intermediate and non-intermediate OFCs?
Intermediate OFCs mainly provide intermediation services to banks and building societies. These include nonbank credit grantors; mortgage and housing credit corporations; bank holding companies; securitisation special
purpose vehicles and other activities auxiliary to financial intermediation. In addition, loans and advances arising
from transactions between banks or building societies and 'other financial intermediaries' belonging to the same
financial group are excluded from this measure of credit. Non-intermediate OFCs are those OFCs not falling
under the definition above, and include securities dealers, insurance companies and pension funds, financial
leasing corporations, investment & unit trusts, fund managers and other financial intermediaries excluding
intergroup transactions. Please see the Quarterly Bulletin and Measures of M4 and M4 lending excluding
intermediate other financial corporations for further detail.
6. Does the Bank provide M1/2/3 statistics?
M1 comprised of notes and coin held by the private sector plus the private sector's non-interest-bearing deposits
and interest-bearing sight deposits held with banks. Since the conversion of building societies to banks, this
statistic has become less useful and production of it has subsequently ceased. Users who are looking for a
similar statistic are advised to use M2, the retail component of M4. This comprises of notes and coin held by the
private sector, plus the private sector's retail deposits held with banks and building societies. Retail deposits are
those where the depositor accepts an advertised rate of interest (including nil). These data can be found in
Bankstats Table A2.2.1 and long runs are available from the Interactive Database.
The Bank also publishes estimates of M1, M2 and M3 in Bankstats Table A2.3; these are estimates of the EMU
aggregates for the UK. Please see explanatory notes for further detail.
7. What measures of money are published by the Bank?
The Bank publishes a number of measures of money. The most narrowly defined measure is Notes & Coin,
whilst the measure with the broadest definition is M4. All measures are outlined in the Monetary Aggregate
spreadsheet, together with basic descriptions of their coverage and information relating to their availability.
SECTION 2: Lending to businesses
1. What lending to businesses data does the Bank of England publish?
The Bank of England publishes a number of series on lending to UK businesses. While there are common
elements across the series, the main measures can differ according to the definition of businesses used in the
calculations (private non-financial corporations or non-financial businesses), the currency (sterling lending or
sterling and foreign currency lending, expressed in sterling) and the instruments (inclusion of loans, overdrafts
and holdings of securities). For a comprehensive account of this information, please see Bankstats article
‘Measures of lending to UK businesses’.
2. Does the Bank publish lending to businesses data, by size of business?
The Bank currently publishes a number of series on MFIs’ lending to UK non-financial businesses in Bankstats
Table A8.1, with series starting in April 2011. This includes a split of gross lending, repayments, and loan and
overdraft balances by business size (SMEs and large businesses) and also by major industrial sector.
3. Does the Bank publish lending to businesses data, split by both size of business (SMEs and large
businesses) and by major industrial sector?
Following a regular review of the Bank of England’s statistical Form LN, new series were introduced from January
2016 to provide additional granularity of the data in Bankstats Table A8.1, including a further industrial
breakdown by business size. These are available on a monthly frequency from January 2016 in Bankstats
Tables A8.1.1 and A8.1.2. For further information, please see Bankstats article ‘Publication of additional data
on UK monetary financial institutions’ lending to businesses’.
4. How are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and large businesses defined?
In Bankstats Tables A8.1, A8.1.1 and A8.1.2, SMEs are defined as businesses with annual debit account
turnover on the main business account up to £25 million. Large businesses are those with annual debit account
turnover on the main business account of over £25 million. For further information, please see the explanatory
notes.
5. Are the lending to businesses data, by size of business found in Table A8.1 available prior to April
2011?
There are no directly comparable data available before 2011. This is due to differences in methodology,
reporting size etc. However, the April 2014 Trends in Lending publication featured twelve month growth rates of
lending to SMEs from 2004 in Chart C of the box, sourced from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). The
backing data for this chart are available to download here.
6. Where can I find pricing data for loans to businesses, by size of business?
The Bank currently publishes effective rates series in Bankstats Table G1.4 and a quarterly distribution of
balances, by interest rate type and tenure, in Table G1.5. Effective rates for total PNFCs are available from
January 2004 and effective rates for SMEs are available from January 2016. Both are available on a monthly
frequency. For further information, please see Bankstats article ‘Forthcoming improvements to interest rate
statistics’ and the explanatory notes. For SME pricing data going further back, please see Chart 3.6 of the
2015 Q4 Credit Conditions Review publication, which displays indicative interest rates on lending to SMEs,
sourced from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The backing data for this chart
is available to download here.
SECTION 3: Lending to Individuals
1. What is the difference between M4 lending to the household sector and the lending to individuals
data?
M4 lending to the household sector comprises data on MFIs’ sterling lending to individuals, unincorporated
businesses and not-for-profit institutions serving households. Lending to individuals data comprises sterling
lending by MFIs and other specialist lenders (such as non-bank, non-building society UK credit grantors,
specialist mortgage lenders) to UK-resident individuals.
2. Does the Bank publish data on the ratio of household debt to disposable income?
The Bank does not publish these data on a routine basis, but may make use of them in some of its publications,
for example the Financial Stability Report and the Quarterly Bulletin. When used the authors may make the data
available on request. Please contact Financial Stability Report or Quarterly Bulletin for further information.
3. Does the Bank publish data on consumer delinquencies or consumer loan defaults?
The Bank does not publish data on loan delinquencies or defaults, but does produce data on 'write-offs and other
revaluations of loans by MFIs’ for credit card and other unsecured lending to individuals. These are covered in
Table C2.1 of Bankstats (Monetary & Financial Statistics).
4. Does the Bank publish data on the average loan size for mortgages in the UK?
No; the Bank does not publish such data.
5. Does the Bank publish data measuring the estimated amount outstanding of housing equity
withdrawal (HEW) (previously called Mortgage Equity Withdrawal)?
No. HEW occurs when withdrawals of housing equity by the household sector are larger than injections of equity.
The Bank measures HEW by taking the difference between net lending secured on dwellings (net mortgage
lending and capital grants) and households’ gross investment in housing (purchases of new houses and houses
from other sectors, improvements to property, and the transactions costs of moving house). Therefore, HEW is
not regarded in stock terms and hence a levels series does not exist. Further information relating to HEW can be
found in the explanatory notes.
6. Does the Bank publish data on commercial mortgages?
The Lending to Individuals data set only captures residential mortgages and does not measure mortgages taken
out by commercial institutions. M4 lending data captures commercial lending but does not separately identify it.
7. Does the Bank publish data on buy-to-let lending?
Buy-to-let lending is included in the Bank’s statistical data for secured lending, but not separately identified.
Separate buy-to-let lending data are available in the Bank and FCA’s joint mortgage lenders and administrators
statistics publication; these data can be accessed via:
www.bankofengland.co.uk/pra/Pages/regulatorydata/mlar/mlarhistorical.aspx.
Alternatively the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) produces data which they publish at CML.
8. Are the secured lending data available split by purpose?
The value and number of approvals for secured lending split by purpose are available in Table A5.4 ‘Monthly
Lending Secured on Dwellings: Approvals’ in Bankstats. From January 2013, the Bank has collected data on
gross advances by purpose from all UK lenders, please see Bankstats, June 2013, ‘Lending to individualsnew published series and update on student loans’ for further details. These gross advances by purpose data
are available in Table A5.3 ‘Lending secured on dwellings’ in Bankstats.
9. When the Bank states that a portfolio of loans has been transferred from a reporter to a non-resident,
do the published numbers reflect the true positions?
Yes. The effect of the transfer is removed such that the published data reflect true lending flows. The amounts
outstanding are not adjusted for such a transfer.
10. Why is the number of Mortgage Approvals lower than the number of housing transactions (measured
by Land Transaction Returns) taking into account that there is a lag between the two?
Not all house purchases require a mortgage, for example when someone who has paid off their mortgage moves
house. This would count as a transaction but no mortgage approval would have been made.
11. Where can I find the amount outstanding of personal debt?
The amount outstanding of lending to individuals by UK resident institutions can be found in Table A5.2 ‘Monthly
Total Lending to Individuals: Net Lending’ in Bankstats (Monetary and Financial Statistics). Net flows are shown
for a number of months and the amounts outstanding for the current month. A further breakdown of consumer
credit is available on the second page of Table A5.6. By clicking on the four digit code above each series, users
are able to access a longer time series with footnotes via the Statistical Interactive Database (IADB). Please visit
the IADB for help.
12. For secured lending data, why does gross lending minus repayments give a different figure to net
lending?
There are two reasons for differences here. Firstly, bridging loans are included in the net lending data, but not in
the gross lending or repayments data. Secondly, loans that have been written off are not accounted for within
gross lending and repayments respectively, but they are excluded from net lending. The Council of Mortgage
Lenders (CML) also produces similar data, which they publish at CML.
13. What is included within other loans & advances?
Other loans and advances includes data other than credit cards this may include overdrafts, personal loans,
dealership car finance, second charge lending and bridging loans.
14. Where can I find data on dealership car finance?
Bankstats table A5.6 provides a breakdown of consumer credit data which is further split into credit card lending
and other loans and advances. Dealership car finance data will be included within other loans and advances.
However, it is not separately published by the Bank; these data are published by the Finance & Leasing
Association (FLA) and can be accessed via their website.
References to dealership car finance have been included in Bank publications, including the Credit Conditions
Review, Financial Stability Report and Inflation Report. See Chart 2.5 in the 2016 Q4 Credit Conditions Review.
SECTION 4: Write-offs
1. Where can I find amounts outstanding of loans to compare to the write offs data?
These can be found on the IADB under the codes listed below.
Sector
PNFCs
OFCs
Secured lending to individuals
Credit card lending
Other unsecured lending to individuals
Total lending to individuals
UBs
Non-residents
Total private sector and non-residents
Sterling
RPQB8YK
RPQB8YI
RPQB7YW
N/A
N/A
RPQB7YU
RPQB8YS
RPQB8YG
RPQB8YP
Foreign Currency
RPQB8YL
RPQB8YJ
RPQB8YB
N/A
N/A
RPQB7YZ
RPQB8YT
RPQB8YH
RPQB8YQ
Total
RPQB69D
RPQB72D
RPQB73D
RPQB74D
RPQB75D
RPQB77D
RPQB78D
RPQB79D
RPQB68D
For further FAQs relating to write-offs please click here.
SECTION 5: Gilts
1. Does the Bank publish a sectoral breakdown of gilts holdings?
Data covering changes in gilt holdings by sector are available from the IADB using the following codes:
LPMB9P6 – non-residents
RPMB4CA – MFIs (excluding central bank)
LPMVYCS – BoE (this also includes other public sector sterling securities as well as gilts)
LPMVRDY – other UK residents. More granular breakdowns, as well as breakdowns of the amounts
outstanding, are published by the ONS in the UK Economic Accounts Table X16.
SECTION 6: Securitisation activity
1. Does the Bank publish data on securitised assets?
As outlined in the February 2010 Monetary and Financial Statistics article 'Statistical Reporting of
Securitisations', the Bank started collecting more data about securitisations in January 2010, including data on
loans outstanding in UK monetary financial institutions own securitisation vehicles. These data are published in
Bankstats Table B1.5 and B1.6.
Up to December 2009, the monthly flows of securitisations to UK MFIs own UK resident special purpose vehicles
(SPV) and other transfers between UK resident lenders are included in Table A5.7 ‘Monthly Acquisitions of
Mortgage and Consumer Credit Portfolios’ of Bankstats (Monetary and Financial Statistics). From January 2010
onwards, this table only shows the monthly flows of loan transfers.
SECTION 7: Central bank's balance sheet - Bank of England 'Bank Return' & ‘Weekly Report’
1. Where can I get long run historical Bank Return/Weekly Report Data?
The Bank of England balance sheet - Bank Return began in 1844. Following the issue of the 1844 Charter,
which gave the Bank a formal monopoly of the note issue for England and Wales, there was a proviso put in
place that prevented the Bank from issuing new notes that were not backed by an increase in the gold reserve (to
keep inflation in check). To make the status of the currency more visible the Bank was required to publish a
separate balance sheet for its note issuing activities, creating the banking and issue departments of the Bank.
The 2009 Banking Act removed the legal requirement for the Bank to continue publishing a summary balance
sheet showing its main assets and liabilities, known as the Bank Return. On 30 June 2014 the Bank announced
that it intended to replace the Bank Return publication with the Weekly Report. The Weekly Report provides data
on all assets and liabilities generated through the Bank’s monetary policy operations, and would typically disclose
over 90% of the Bank’s balance sheet by value. The final Bank Return was published on 25 September 2014,
with the first Weekly Report published on 02 October 2014.
Each Thursday the Bank of England publishes the Weekly Report on its website. Each Monday, the latest
Weekly Report data are added to the full time series on the Statistical Interactive Database (IADB) and data for
the most recent periods are reproduced in Table B1.1.2 of Monetary and Financial Statistics (Bankstats). Annual
Balance sheets are published as part of its annual report.
Prior to the introduction of the Weekly Report, the Central Bank’s balance sheet was published in Table B1.1.1.
The series which together formed this table can also be found on the Interactive Database (IADB). Before this,
the most recent change to the disclosure of Central Bank balance sheet information occurred in 2006 following
reforms to the Bank of England’s money market operations. The article, The implications of money market
reform for data published in Monetary and Financial Statistics, details the implications for data availability.
Previously, the Central Bank’s balance sheet had been published by the Bank of England in a different format in
Table B1.1.1. The series, which together formed this table, can also be found on the Interactive Database
(IADB). A backrun of data to 1976, can be viewed for the series comprising the table. Further historic figures
from 1884 onwards are published in PDF format by the London Gazette. The Bank recently published a
spreadsheet containing data on the Bank’s assets and liabilities between 1696 and 2014, as part of its One
Bank research agenda. Alternatively sources for long run data may be available from The Economist online or
the Bankers Almanac, if you have access to these.
Explanatory notes relating to the Weekly Report and Bank Return are available to view.
SECTION 8: General
1. Where can I find further information on the published data series?
Please see the explanatory notes section.
2. Where can I find data published in the old Statistical Abstract publication (now superseded by
Bankstats)?
The Statistical Abstract publication (now superseded by the Bank’s Interactive Database and Bankstats) can be
viewed.
3. Does the Bank publish regional lending data?
No; the Bank does not collect such data.
4. Does the Bank publish data on individual banks' market shares?
No; the Bank does not publish these data since this would breach individual institutions’ confidentiality.
5. How does the Bank calculate longer-run growth rates?
Please see the explanatory notes for further detail.