Finance & Leasing Association8 April 2022
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew by 39% in February 2022 compared with the same month in 2021. In the first two months of 2022, new business was 45% higher than in the same period in 2021.
The credit card and personal loan sectors together reported new business up by 44% in February compared with the same month in 2021, while the retail store and online credit sector reported new business growth of 15% over the same period.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Director of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:
“The consumer finance market’s strong performance in February largely reflected the distorting effects of shop closures during the third UK lockdown last year and pent-up demand as the economy emerges from the pandemic and the UK learns to live with Covid.
“The near-term economic outlook remains difficult as consumers and businesses face higher prices and increased costs across the board. Our latest research suggests that new consumer credit in the UK will grow by 13% in 2022 as the market continues to recover and FLA members support households to make essential purchases.
“As always, any customer worried about meeting payments should speak to their lender as soon as possible to find a solution.”
Table 1: New consumer credit lending
|
|
Feb 2022 |
% change on prev. year |
3 months to Feb 2022 |
% change on prev. year |
12 months to Feb 2022 |
% change on prev. year |
| Total FLA consumer finance (£m) |
8,081 |
39 |
25,554 |
34 |
105,720 |
28 |
| Data extracts: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Retail store and online credit (£m) |
677 |
15 |
2,360 |
6 |
9,284 |
8 |
| Credit cards & personal loans (£m) |
4,322 |
44 |
13,636 |
39 |
52,536 |
33 |
| Second charge mortgages (£m) |
119 |
70 |
309 |
60 |
1,192 |
80 |
| Car finance (£m) |
2,661 |
39 |
8,390 |
37 |
38,681 |
29 |
Note to editors:
- 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.
- In 2021, FLA members provided £132 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £101 billion of this was in the form of consumer credit representing over a third of total new consumer credit written in the UK in 2021.
- Consumer motor finance reported in these figures refers to finance obtained through the point of sale.
- For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.
