Gross new consumer lending in the United Kingdom (UK) 2007-2024

Consumer lending, excluding student loans, in the United Kingdom (UK) reached nearly 32 billion British pounds in March 2024. These figures have thus recovered from the stark decline suffered in April 2020. The value of new consumer credit granted also decreased during the economic crisis of 2007, although more gradually. The category consumer lending includes loans and advances to individuals through credit cards and personal loans. The majority of consumer credit is through credit card lending.

Mortgage lending

The value of outstanding mortgage lending in the UK is far higher than that of consumer credit. Additionally, the outstanding volume of consumer credit has fluctuated more in the past, while mortgages have had a more consistent growth. In the second quarter of 2021, the value of gross new mortgage lending in the UK amounted to over 89 billion British pounds. Those figures were twice higher than in the second quarter of 2020, when new mortgage lending decreased significantly due to the uncertainty created by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Credit card payments

With billions of British pounds in gross consumer lending through credit cards, it’s unsurprising that the number of credit cards in circulation in 2022 was nearly as high as the number of people in the UK. The number of credit cards peaked in 2005, and it slightly decreased in the following months. However, there were still nearly 57 million credit cards in issue in the UK in 2022. The average amount spent per purchase on credit cards in the UK was over 59 British pounds in July 2023. This figure is much lower than the spending limit of most credit cards.