Credit card spending 'subdued as year ended'
Published On 24 January 2008
Consumers spent slightly more on their credit cards in December than they had in previous months, but borrowing remained subdued over the festive period.Figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) showed that consumers spent £7.4 billion on credit cards in the final month of 2007, compared to an average of £7.3 billion over the previous six months.
The data showed that the annual rate of credit card borrowing growth was 5.2 per cent.
The BBA data also showed that gross mortgage lending was only £15.1 billion in December, compared to £16.5 billion the month before and an average of £18.4 over the previous half year.
BBA statistics director, David Dooks, commented on the latest data. He said: "Mortgage lending weakened notably in the second half of 2007 as the credit crunch impacted on banks' ability to lend.
"At the same time, demand for mortgages also softened in the face of increased borrowing costs and lower disposable income.
"Reports of high street sales over the Christmas period were mixed, but our figures show consumer borrowing to have been muted in December."
