Consumer credit up 6.4 per cent in April - BBA

Meanwhile, gross mortgage borrowing totalled £13.4 billion in April, this was up 10 per cent higher year-on-year, while net mortgage borrowing was 2.4 per cent higher than a year ago.

Eric Leenders, BBA Managing Director for Retail Banking said: “As the Spring sunshine picked up in April, so did consumer spending. Annual growth in consumer borrowing from the main high street banks grew due to increased customer use of credit cards. This was also reflected by an uplift in retail sales volumes, particularly among food retailers over the Easter period.

“House purchase approvals were largely in line with last year’s average, though remortgaging approvals have dipped slightly in recent months despite historically low interest rates.

“Business lending in April was fairly flat possibly reflecting the current uncertain climate.”