July’s FLA consumer lending figures showed growth in almost all areas of high street consumer credit, providing a welcome boost to the economy. The Finance & Leasing Association has urged the Government to ensure that any new regulatory regime for consumer credit supports high street shoppers.
July saw overall growth of 10% in the consumer credit provided by FLA members, compared with the same month in 2011. Store instalment credit grew by 33%, car finance by 28% (by value), second-charge mortgages by 11%, and credit cards and personal loans by 2% over the same period. Spending in the store card market fell.
Fiona Hoyle, Head of Consumer Finance at the Finance & Leasing Association, commented:
“These figures show the importance of high street credit, whether provided by large retail chains or smaller independent stores, in helping consumers access the goods and services they require. The Government will soon be taking decisions on a proposed new regulatory regime for consumer credit, and must ensure that high street businesses can grow and deliver consumer choice.”
Table 1: New consumer credit lending July 2012
|
July 12 |
% change on prev. year |
3 months to July 2012 |
% change on prev. year |
12 months to July 2012 |
% change on prev. year |
|
| Total FLA consumer finance (£m) |
4,588 |
+10 |
13, 819 |
+7 |
54,149 |
+5 |
| Store cards (£m) |
116 |
-14 |
357 |
-14 |
1,598 |
-10 |
| Credit cards & personal loans (£m) |
2,764 |
+2 |
8,212 |
0 |
32,967 |
+1 |
| Store instalment credit (£m) |
244 |
+33 |
705 |
+26 |
2,617 |
+2 |
| Second mortgages (£m) |
31 |
+11 |
84 |
+8 |
306 |
+8 |
| Car finance (£m) |
1,309 |
+28 |
4,037 |
+21 |
15,353 |
+16 |
Matt Tristram, joint Managing Director of Loans Warehouse comments on the latest FLA consumer lending figures:
“This jump in gross lending shows that activity is starting to pick up compared to the much quieter June and that we’re attracting more and more borrowers to the second charge market. These figures also fully support the results of our Secured Loan Index, released back in August, where we measured that lending in July stood at £32.3m.”
David Johnson, Managing Director, Shawbrook Bank added:
“It comes as no surprise to Shawbrook that the second mortgage market continues to grow monthly in volumes completed. We have noticed since the early part of the year that demand is exceeding people’s expectations, given the lack of liquidity in the mortgage market generally and competitiveness of second mortgage lending. New innovative products in this space have been launched by several lenders of late and we foresee the market continuing to grow throughout 2012 and into 2013. We are delighted to have played our part in helping grow this market”