Credit card lending up as borrowing falls in November 2010

Wednesday, 05 January 2011 12:00

Despite an overall drop in the amount borrowed by Britons in November 2010, credit card lending rose, reports the Bank of England.

In its latest update on lending to individuals, the financial institution notes a £0.1 billion rise in credit card lending during the penultimate month of the year.

This compares with a £0.2 billion repayment on other loans and advances during the same period.

Overall, the year-on-year growth in consumer credit remains positive at 0.6 per cent - no change from the month before.

However, over the shorter term Britons seemed keen to clear at least some of their debts in the run-up to Christmas.

Between October and November, the net £0.1 billion repaid represents a swing of £0.4 billion from the previous month's £0.3 billion increase in lending as a whole.

Figures from the Bank of England relating to lending written off by UK banks and building societies show that, in the third quarter of 2010, £740 million of credit card loans were quashed - around a third of the amount recorded in the previous quarter.

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