Consumer credit is on the rise again

THE PACE of consumer credit growth increased in February after a slowdown at the turn of the year, due to higher spending on credit cards.

Bank of England data, released on Thursday, showed that personal borrowing increased by 9.4 per cent on an annual basis in February.

This is an increase from 9.3 per cent in January, but down from 9.6 per cent in December 2017.

The February figures were mainly driven by credit card growth, which rose 9.6 per cent annually, up from 9.4 per cent the month before.

In contrast, growth in loan advances was flat at 9.3 per cent in February on an annual basis. Loan growth improved quarterly and was up 8.5 per cent in the three months to February, compared with 8.2 per cent recorded in January.

The consumer credit growth figures are still below the 10 per cent peak recorded last year.

The small business lending market also picked up its pace of growth in February, rising by 0.1 per cent to £700m month on month.

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