BBA: Credit card borrowing falls

The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has confirmed that borrowing on credit cards fell by £0.3 billion last month.

Industry watchers are interpreting the figures as a sign that Britain’s easy credit culture is beginning to wane, with borrowing still up over all.

Unsecured borrowing rose last month, with loans and overdrafts up by £0.7 billion. Borrowing on mortgages also increased substantially to £18.2 billion.

New borrowing on credit cards stood at £7,682 million in May, up 16 per cent on April. However, repayments outstripped spending, as Britons moved to clear existing debts.

David Dooks, BBA director of statistics, said: “Whilst May’s consumer credit data show an interchange of borrowing between credit cards and overdrafts, the increase in overall unsecured borrowing was in line with recent trends.”

The figures were released as the UK credit card industry celebrates its 40th anniversary.