The figures highlighted that UK consumers paid off £5bn of credit card debt and £2.4bn of personal loans over the course of April, a rate of repayment never seen before.

The dramatic pay off of consumer debt highlights the stark contrast in the experiences of individuals and companies during the coronavirus lockdown, as business borrowing remained near record highs.

UK businesses raised £16.3bn in April, a decrease from March’s record £31.6bn but still above normal. In just two months, the amount of corporate debt has risen by about 10% as lockdown has forced firms to shut up shop or move to home working and online sales and forced them to use debt to cover fixed costs, such as rent.

A huge amount of borrowing has been raised through government-backed schemes. However, it has resulted in an unusual recession, The Times reports.

Consumers and businesses are experiencing the recession differently as worker’s wages are being paid through the UK Government’s furlough scheme whilst only temporary interest-free loans or other forms of cheap credit are being supplied to companies.

Businesses are desperate to have cash at hand in case revenues do not recover as lockdown is eased and they are drawing on what funds they can. Bank of England data highlighted that corporate deposits rose by £25.2bn in April, less than the £33.8bn increase in March but much higher than usual. In the six months to February 2020, corporate deposits rose by an average of £34 million per month.

Net mortgage borrowing fell to its lowest since 2011, at £300m. Mortgage approvals dropped to 15,800, compared with 56,100 in March and 73,700 before the pandemic, as the housing market effectively closed during the lockdown period.

Household deposits again increased sharply, by £16.2bn in April, more than three times as much as the average pre-crisis month in the past year.

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