Cautious public cut debt
Friday 28 December 2012
Printable
EmailHouseholds are paying back debt as fast as they borrow it despite an overall rise in spending on credit cards and mortages, the British Bankers Association (BBA) reported today.
The figures could signal increased consumer caution but might also mean households are using up a higher proportion of their already squeezed incomes to try and avoid spiralling interest rates, the association said.
New spending on credit cards climbed to £7.3 billion in November from a six-month average of £7.1bn.
But consumers continued a trend of paying back more than they put on their plastic, with £7.5bn made in repayments during the month.
The BBA said that outstanding levels of non-mortgage borrowing contracted by 2.3 per cent in the year to November.
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