The latest figures on lending to individuals released by the Bank of England show that the total amount of credit outstanding to individuals has grown by just under £931 million over the past year (April 2009 - April 2010).
However, within this figure there has been a shift away from consumer credit lending to secured lending. Total secured loan amounts outstanding grew over the year by 1% (£11.6 billion) but this was largely offset by a £10.7 billion fall in consumer credit lending.
The Banks figures reveal that the reduction in consumer credit lending has been a consistent trend throughout the year, but that there have been fluctuations in the total - caused by periods of growth in secured lending. However, since the start of 2010 the secured lending market has been weaker, posting a growth of only £1.1 billion between January and April. This has not been sufficient to offset the fall in consumer credit of £4.6 billion in the same period, which has resulted in an overall reduction in total amounts outstanding.