LONDON (AFX) - Gross mortgage lending by major UK banks rose to 11.801 bln stg in August from 10.979 bln the previous month, according to the latest monthly data released by the British Bankers' Association. The BBA went on to report that seasonally adjusted net mortgage lending rose by 3.984 bln stg, 10 pct higher than July's 3.62 bln stg rise. However, new mortgage approvals fell 8 pct on the month to 89,894 in August, and with the total value falling 10 pct to 6.878 bln stg. The average mortgage loan approval value was 76,500 stg, down 1,400 stg from July. The BBA said there were 57,994 remortgages approved during the month at a value of 3.983 bln stg. Approvals of loans secured on dwellings for purposes other than house purchase or remortgaging -- such as home improvement and equity release loans -- totalled 972 mln stg, down 2 pct from July. The BBA reported that gross lending on personal loans totalled 3.513 bln stg in August, down 1 pct from July. Meanwhile, gross lending on credit cards fell 4 pct on the month to 5.785 bln stg in August. However repayments fell to take net credit card lending higher by 269 mln stg compared with a 148 mln stg rise in July. BBA chief executive Ian Mullen said while the high number of approvals in August had led to continued strong growth in mortgage lending, approvals were now noticeably lower. "Weakening demand at this time of year is not unusual, so it is too soon to gauge whether market sentiment is falling further than the seasonal picture. Consumer demand was held up by personal loan demand, whilst card borrowing remained very subdued. Nevertheless, continued increases in personal borrowing overall do not suggest that consumer confidence was falling in August," he said.