Consumer finance market down 2% in April

New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell by 2% in April, compared with the same month last year.

Credit card and personal loan new business together grew by 3% compared with April 2016, while retail store and online credit new business fell by 4%. Second charge mortgage new business was up 53% by value and 36% by volume over the same period.

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

“In the first four months of 2017, FLA consumer finance new business increased by 4%. The latest research from Oxford Economics, on behalf of the FLA, suggests that total UK new consumer credit is likely to grow by 2.1% in 2017 overall.

“The strong growth in second charge mortgage new business in part reflects lower than usual new business volumes in April 2016, which was the first month following the transfer of the regulation of this market to the Financial Conduct Authority’s mortgage regime.”

Table 1: New consumer credit lending

Note to editors:

1. FLA members in the consumer finance sector include banks, credit card providers, store card providers, second-charge mortgage lenders, motor finance providers, personal loan and instalment credit providers.
2. In 2016, FLA members provided £118 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £88 billion of this was in the form of consumer credit representing over a third of total new consumer credit written in the UK in 2016.
3. For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.