News in brief: CML ups forecast for home loans, Aviva sets aside an infrastructure fund

Mortgage lending for the whole year will be higher than expected but far less than in the boom years, the Council for Mortgage Lending said today.

It has raised its forecast for total lending from £156 billion to £170 billion this year but that is well below the £363 billion record set in 2007. Lending in November was up 30% on a year ago at £17 billion. “We are still way below the historical norm,” said mortgage broker Moneysprite’s Ashley Brown.

Aviva today set aside £500 million to invest in UK infrastructure projects as part of a Government initiative announced earlier this month.

The funds will be used to back transport, utilities, hospitals and schools. Insurers have agreed to invest £25 billion over five years. Boss Mark Wilson said: “As a UK business with long-term customer commitments we cannot just focus on today. We must be a good ancestor.”