Consumer finance new business falls by 64% in April 2020

New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell in April 2020 by 64% compared with the same month in 2019, and decreased by 19% in the first four months of 2020.

Credit card and personal loan new business together fell in April 2020 by 48% compared with the same month in 2019, while retail store and online credit new business was 30% lower over the same period.

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

 “All consumer finance sectors reported falls in new business in April, although the car finance market was hardest hit.  Online purchases reached a record-high of 30% of retail sales in April, which stemmed the impact of the lockdown on the retail store and online credit sector.

 “With much of the retail sector reopening during June, the FLA urges the Government and Bank of England to take immediate action to extend financial support schemes to all lenders, including non-banks, so that they can meet the huge ongoing demand for forbearance and the pent-up demand for new lending.”

 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 2019, FLA members provided £140 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £105 billion of this was in the form of consumer credit representing over a third of total new consumer credit written in the UK in 2019.
3. Consumer motor finance reported in these figures refers to finance obtained through the point of sale.
4. For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.