The British Bankers' Association said its members approved 43,975 loans for house purchase in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, lower than the 45,500 figure forecast in a Reuters poll and down from 44,533 in November.

Net credit card lending rose by 236 million pounds, less than 326 million pounds in November but still up on December 2014.

"Last year was a strong year for household borrowing," BBA chief economist Richard Woolhouse said.

(Reporting by David Milliken,; editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)