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UK banks approve fewest mortgages since April 2013
British banks approved 35,667 mortgages for house purchase in December, the lowest number since April 2013, as the housing market continued to slow, the British Bankers' Association said on Tuesday. Mortgage approvals for house purchase fell from 36,657 in November, 24 percent down from the same time a year ago. Still, the BBA said that for 2014 as a whole, the number of house purchase approvals was 9 percent higher than the previous year. "The mortgage market has been softening since the spring, but for customers taking out home loans right now there are some great deals and we expect the market to begin to grow ... (full story)