Applications for
personal loans fell during the last month, according to recent research.
The High Street Banking Report released by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) indicated that fewer people took out
personal loans on a month-to-month basis during March.
Additionally, it found that such borrowing was being scaled back when compared to February, but that repayments increased slightly during the same time period.
However,
credit card transactions rose by around 1.3 per cent during March, which the report attributed to growth in retail sales volumes.
The actual value of such purchases fell by five per cent, with overall
credit card spending decreasing 4.5 per cent on a year-on-year basis as a result.
David Dooks, director of statistics at the BBA, said ongoing low interest rates were a significant factor in customers’ decisions.
"People are holding more cash in their everyday accounts, rather than building up
savings accounts, and overall unsecured borrowing levels are standing still,” he explained.
Earlier data released by the BBA revealed that around £1.3 billion had been issued by high street banks in February for the purposed of
personal loans.
