Borrowing figures ‘reflect tighter personal budgets’

January lending figures fell by 500 million from 2005 to 2007, the bank recently revealed, which demonstrates an increasing trend among British consumers to avoid credit card debt, Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at Global Insight claims.

And with rising incidence of debt management concerns nationwide, rising interest rates are further deterring Brits from unsecured lending options, Mr Archer suggests.

“With debt levels rising and many people stretching themselves to the limit in buying a house, there is clearly an increasing need for many consumers to do all that they can to improve their finances,” commented the economic expert.

The cost of borrowing money in the UK was raised by a quarter point in January of this year for the third time since August 2006 by the bank’s interest rate setting monetary policy committee.