Consumer finance new business holds steady in March

New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business in March was at a similar level to that reported in March 2017, and grew 6% in Q1 2018 as a whole.

Credit card and personal loan new business together grew in March by 7%, compared with the same month in the previous year, while retail store and online credit new business increased by 4%. The point of sale finance sector reported a fall in new business in March of 6% compared with the same month in 2017.

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

“The latest consumer finance new business figures were in line with recent trends in the wider economy, with household spending likely to have been adversely affected by poor weather conditions. FLA consumer finance providers’ penetration of the UK new consumer credit market held steady in the twelve months to March 2018 at 35.6%.”

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 2017, FLA members provided £128 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £96 billion of this was in the form of consumer credit representing over a third of total new consumer credit written in the UK in 2017.
3. For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.