British consumers repay record amount of debt
BRITISH consumers paid back a record amount of unsecured debt in October according to the Bank of England, which reported yesterday that net consumer credit fell by a record £579m in October.
This marked the largest monthly fall since records began in 1993 and was the fourth monthly repayment in a row. City economists had expected consumers to repay £200m.
The data showed credit card borrowing was limited to £134m, while there was a record net repayment of £713m on other loans and advances.
Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said: “This is clearly the consequence of many consumers’ desire to reduce their debt, low demand for credit and a lack of availability of unsecured credit from banks.”
Prior to the crisis, households had built up debt worth £228bn.