Consumer lending in September was more than double what was reported
A correction to Bank of England data has shown that unsecured lending in September was over double what was reported.
Consumers borrowed money at the fastest rate since early 2008 in the three months to September, revised data from the Bank of England showed today. The news intensifies concerns that the UK's recovery is reliant on consumer demand and debt.
Corrections to data released earlier this week have shown that unsecured consumer credit rose by £864m in September – the highest monthly level this year and significantly higher than August's increase of £680m.
The bank had reported a figure of £411m, saying that stronger business lending was coupled with a slowing in unsecured lending to consumers, and that September saw the highest number of mortgage approvals since February 2008.
The leap raises growth in unsecured lending to an annualised rate of 5.8 per cent in the three months to September, a pace last seen in April 2008.
In a statement today, the Bank said: "this release was reissued on 31 October 2013 due to an error in implementing a change to the reporting population for September 2013."