The Bank of England's figures will be seen as more evidence of a recovery in the housing market
More mortgages are being approved than at any time in the past three and a half years, according to the latest figures from the Bank of England.
Some 58,242 home loans were approved in May 2013, up from 54,354 in April.
The figure is the highest since December 2009, and will be seen as further evidence of a recovery in the housing market.
But the amount of money being lent to businesses is continuing to fall.
Loans to non-financial businesses fell by £1.3bn in May compared with the previous month, the Bank of England's figures showed.
Over the past year, business lending has fallen by 3.6%, in spite of the government's Funding for Lending Scheme.
The scheme was supposed to encourage banks and building societies to make more loans.
But since the scheme started in August 2012, it appears to have benefitted homeowners more than businesses.
Source: BBC News - Business http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23127136#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
