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mpc: 3 A8 Households' M4 deposits had risen by £2.6 billion (0.5%) in November. M4 lending to households (excluding securitisations) had grown strongly, rising by £4.8 billion (0.9%) in November. The twelve-month growth rate had picked up to 9.2%, the highest rate since 1991 Q2. Within total lending to individuals, total net secured lending had risen by £3.8 billion (0.8%) in November, and the twelve-month growth rate had increased to 8.2%. The value of loan approvals had remained strong (at £10.4 billion). The stock of outstanding loan approvals had fallen (by £0.5 billion) for the first time since January 1999. This was thought to reflect both the relative strength of gross lending and a rise in cancellations in November. A9 Total unsecured lending had risen by £1.3 billion (1.2%) in November, but the twelve-month growth rate had declined again (to 13.4%) and had fallen by more than 4 percentage points in the past year. The Bank's estimate of mortgage equity withdrawal in 1999 Q3 had been revised upwards to £3.8 billion and `total borrowing for consumption' (defined as mortgage equity withdrawal plus unsecured lending) grew strongly. A10 The M4 deposits of PNFCs had risen by £1.6 billion (1.3%) in November, and the twelve-month growth rate had picked up to 7.3%. In contrast, M4 lending to PNFCs had risen by only £0.3 billion (0.1%) in November, and the twelve-month growth rate had declined to 3.1%. But PNFCs' total borrowing (including foreign currency borrowing and capital market finance) had increased, with sterling capital issues being particularly strong. A11 OFCs' M4 deposits had fallen by £1.5 billion (-0.9%) in November, and the twelve-month growth rate had declined further to -7.0%. But M4 lending to OFCs had risen strongly, by £4.6 billion (2.2%), and the twelve-month growth rate had picked up sharply to 11.4%. A12 Nominal interest rates from gilts had risen between 30 and 50 basis points on the month, across all maturities. Short-term nominal forward rates at maturities up to five years had initially fallen following the December MPC meeting, but had subsequently firmed. Rising interest rate expectations, particularly at the long end, had also been evident in other countries over this period. Corporate bond spreads had narrowed since the beginning of January. Real interest rates derived from index-linked markets had shown little change at the short end, rising slightly at longer maturities. Survey-based measures of short-term real interest rates had also shown a slight increase in 1999 Q4.