The U.K. government is expected to unveil a £50 billion ($73.4 billion) boost to the mortgage market. It aims to accomplish this goal by underwriting billions in MBS to help lenders fund new loans.
The scheme, which is subject to state aid approval from European officials, will be announced this week. The government is expected to announce the creation of two new types of government-backed assets as part of the plan, one of which will carry a promise that the government will buy it back at face value at any time.
In January, the government said it was willing to provide full or partial guarantees to eligible high-quality assets to support lending, and "promote robust and sustainable markets over the longer-term".
Other boosts to mortgage lending have been given through nationalized Northern Rock, which announced an extra £14 billion in loans. Part-nationalized Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group have also made lending commitments in return for public support.
