Mark Carney has moved to cool the mortgage lending market by announcing the withdrawal of the Bank of England's flagship scheme to back banks lending.
Carney's withdrawal of the Funding for Lending scheme (FLS) from next January would end up making it harder for households to borrow against their homes and help combat fears of a housing bubble, sparked as house prices have soared 13.4% in the two years since October 2011.
The Bank said there was no immediate threat to the financial stability of the housing market, but "risks may grow if stronger activity is accompanied by further substantial and rapid increases in house prices".
Speaking at the Bank's Financial Stability Report conference, Carney said it “is no longer appropriate to have our foot on the accelerator” for the mortgage market and the FLS would be changed to back the flow of credit to small businesses.
The Bank governor's move comes as he admitted to having no "veto" on the government's Help to Buy scheme, which offers aspiring home-owners cheap, state-backed mortgages.