April sees further growth in consumer finance

Credit card finance and personal loans grew by 3% in the same period, as did retail store and online credit.

The second charge mortgage market in April reported the value of new business up by 21%, although the number of new contracts fell slightly, by 2% compared with the same month in 2013.

Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:

“Growth rates in April across the main consumer finance sectors were more modest than in recent months.  Nevertheless, FLA members’ share of the UK consumer credit market increased to 33.5% in the twelve months to April, up from 33.4% in March.

“April 2014 also saw a big change to the way in which consumer credit is regulated in the UK, with the introduction of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new supervisory regime.”