Borrowers continued to take out new mortgages as fears of a war-led slowdown failed to materialise last month.

Among a clutch of figures from the sector, the Council of mortgage Lenders (CML) said gross mortgage lending totalled £19.3 billion in March, up from £17.6 billion in February.

The CML described the mortgage market as performing very strongly, although it added remortgaging was the main driver of the current buoyancy, accounting for 50 per cent of all lending at £9.6 billion.

The view was endorsed by the British Bankers' Association, which said mortgage lending growth was very similar to recent months, rising £4.8 billion in March.

The organisation, which represents the major banking groups, said card borrowing also had its strongest monthly growth since May 2000.

BBA director David Dooks said: "Consumers remained very active in March, and mortgage lending continued to grow at the high, yet stable, level of the last nine months or so."

Other figures yesterday from the Building Societies' Association reported a significant leap in mortgage approvals on a year ago, but slightly down on last month.

Director general Adrian Coles said consumers had continued to take advantage of the low interest rates by remortgaging.

He added: "Approvals are showing people are still looking for mortgages."