Rise in personal lending starts to slow

Figures from the Major British Banking Groups (MBBG), for May 2003, show that personal lending is still growing but the rise is slower than in recent months. Mortgage lending has risen by an underlying average of £5.1bn a month over the last six months but May's underlying rise was weaker, at £4.6bn. Structured personal loan demand was also lower than of late, rising by only £0.2bn. Despite a stronger rise of £0.5bn in credit card lending, the increase in total lending to individuals of £5.3bn was below the recent monthly average of £5.8bn. David Dooks, director of BBA statistics, say...