Credit card borrowing falls

Credit card debt dropped by £300 million during July, figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) show, a possible sign that people are better managing their finances.

However, the amount of deposits savers put into bank accounts also slowed in this period to £2.1 billion, compared to the six-month average of £3.1 billion.

“Weaker deposit growth could… partly reflect the management of short-term personal finances becoming more focussed, with more borrowing requirements being planned on a longer term basis,” suggested David Dooks, the BBA’s director of statistics.

While credit card loans remained at its low level of £0.3 billion, the mortgage market remained “buoyant”, making July’s total borrowing to be £14.2 billion more than in June.