Help to Buy not needed, says Bank of England

The Bank of England has told the government that the Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee Scheme is no longer needed.

The scheme, which allows lenders to offer loans to people offering a deposit as low as five per cent thanks to government support, is set to be closed at the end of the year following a decline in usage.

In a Financial Policy Committee (FPC) review of the Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, it was revealed that the scheme accounted for only three per cent of total mortgage lending in the first quarter of the year compared to six per cent in 2014.

Additionally, it accounted for 25 per cent of lending in the first three months of the year to those offering a deposit of less than 10 per cent of the value of the home to be bought, compared with 70 per cent in 2014.

Bank of england governor Mark Carney has written to Chancellor Philip Hammond, saying: “Given the decreasing usage of the scheme over time, the [Financial Policy] Committee judges that the closure of the scheme would be unlikely, in current market conditions, to affect significantly the provision of finance to prospective mortgagors, including high loan-to-value borrowers.”