Voracious Personal Borrowing Continues: Consumers Ignore Debt Warnings

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 1st Sep 2003

Vincent Cable MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow DTI Secretary

New figures issued today by the Bank of England show that lending to individuals grew by almost £10 billion for the second successive month.

Secured lending grew by some £8.4 billion, while consumer credit grew by £1.5 billion. Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow DTI Secretary, said:

"The 'buy now pay later' culture nurtured by this Government may mean consumers will regret borrowing so voraciously. With many households already seeing record levels of debt, the British consumer's love affair with the credit card may well end in tears."

"Many people appear to have an exaggerated sense of security that is not justified by economic indicators. Aggressive lenders must be reigned in and the public need to be aware of the dangers of imprudent borrowing."

"The financial services industry has a role to play here. They should make sure that consumers on all levels of income have access to basic banking services without taking on unsupportable debt."

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

The Bank of England Press Release is at: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/mfsd/li/030901/lendind.pdf