Personal lending in November ‘up again’

According to the Bank of England (BoE), lending to individuals in November grew by £1 billion, slightly down on October’s increase of £1.1 billion.

Net credit card lending rose by £0.2 billion in November, while other loans and advances grew by £0.9 billion.

This follows figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) that found underlying net lending on credit cards rose by £0.1 billion in November, while net lending on loans and overdrafts fell by £0.1 billion.

The BoE said that the annual growth rate of consumer credit in November remained unchanged at 6.2 per cent, although the three-month annualised growth rate grew by 0.4 per cent to six per cent.

According to the BBA, monthly credit card spending and the value of new personal loans have both been generally lower in 2006 than in the previous two years.