Credit card borrowing falls
Published On 28 June 2007
The level of consumer credit borrowing - including that on credit cards - continued to decline in May, new research suggests.Figures released by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) indicate that credit card borrowing in the UK fell by £0.4 billion over the month.
Similarly, the borrowing on personal loans and overdrafts also decreased - down £100 million when compared to April.
In total, credit card spending totalled £7.4 billion in May, a fall of 3.4 per against the same month in 2006.
Despite these figures indicating that recent interest rate increases could be slowing consumer spending, the BBA's figures also showed that mortgage lending increased over May.
Gross mortgage lending in the month was up eight per cent when compared to May 2006 - reaching £19.7 billion.
"Although retail sales have grown recently, credit card borrowing continues to slow down as consumers prefer to pay up front rather than borrowing to spend," explained David Dooks, the BBA's director of statistics.
"Contrary to the recent stable trend, the banks' gross and net mortgage lending strengthened in May, reflecting an improved competitive position, rather than a general rise in mortgage demand across the market."
