Level of consumer lending looking stable

April’s total loan value rose by £5,278 million, compared to £5,087 million in March and £4,442 million in April 2005.

“Overall, the trends in consumer lending appear stable,” said David Dooks, BBA director of statistics.

“After March’s stronger figures, mortgage lending fell back in April to around the recent average and, although credit card lending was stronger, that has to be viewed against the rare net repayment seen in March.”

March saw the unusual situation where repayment of credit card debt beat credit taken out, but April appears to give more typical figures.

The BBA says that lending in April showed a net increase of 1.4 per cent on March’s figures and while loan and overdrafts had no growth, credit card debt increased by £0.3 billion, against average increases of £0.1 billion.

Mortgages accounted for the majority of the rise in debt, at £4,973 million, while credit card debt grew by £277 million compared to a fall in March of £186 million.

After the unusual figures in March, the BBA believes that loans and credit have now returned to more average, stable patterns.