Consumer Credit in United Kingdom

It measures the amount of lending to UK households to finance the consumption of goods and services (excluding housing), such as personal loans and credit cards. Published by the Bank of England, it is a gauge of household demand and leverage.

It is derived from lenders' balance sheets, aggregating the net monthly change in consumer credit. The Bank of England publishes the net amount advanced during the month, in pounds, along with its growth rate.

Its trend anticipates the path of private consumption and reflects household confidence and financing conditions; strong growth can signal buoyancy but also rising indebtedness that may concern the Bank of England.

It is a volatile figure, sensitive to seasonal factors and to changes in regulation and credit supply, and is subject to revisions; a single month's net flow can give a misleading picture of the trend.