The rapid growth in borrowing by consumers appears to be slowing amid a squeeze on households, despite remaining at levels unseen since the financial crisis. The annual rate of growth for consumer borrowing through credit cards, overdrafts and personal loans slowed to 9.8% in July, the lowest rate of expansion since April 2016, according to the Bank of England. The growth rate was a little weaker than in recent months, when the pace of expansion was above 10%. “While any interest rate hikes would be limited and gradual, even small increases could cause problems for many consumers given high borrowing levels,” he said. Still, at the current pace of expansion, Britons are racking up debt at almost five times the growth rate of earnings.

Source: The Guardian August 30, 2017 11:04 UTC