The volume of new business agreed in the consumer finance sector increased by 2% year-on-year in October, new data from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has shown.
Over the 10 months to the end of October, new consumer finance business was 1% higher than in the same period in 2023.
Members of the FLA from across the consumer finance sector include banks, credit card providers, store card providers, second charge mortgage lenders, personal loan and instalment credit providers, as well as motor finance providers.
In the latest data, the total value of new consumer finance business hit £9.6bn in October. The credit card and personal loans sectors (£5.1bn) together reported new business 3% higher than in October 2023, while the retail store and online credit sector (£803m) reported new business growth holding steady over the same period.
“Our latest market data shows modest growth in consumer finance new business overall in October reflecting a subdued picture across most finance products apart from second charge mortgages,” said director of research and chief economist at the FLA, Geraldine Kilkelly.
“The outlook for consumer spending has weakened with the prospect of slower wage growth and higher taxes weighing on the recovery in real household disposable incomes.
“The FLA’s Q4 2024 Industry Outlook Survey showed that 63% of consumer finance providers expected some increase in new business over the next year, compared with 71% in the Q3 2024 Survey, while a further 13% expected new business levels to remain stable.”
In the second charge mortgage market, the FLA’s figures revealed that new business totalled £169m in October, a figure up 39% on the same month last year.
Commenting on these figures, the FLA’s director of consumer and mortgage finance and inclusion, Fiona Hoyle, added: “Housing market activity has begun to pick up since the Bank of England started to cut Bank Rate in the second half of this year.
“In October, the second charge mortgage reported further strong new business growth by both value and volume compared with the same month in 2023. In the 10 months to October 2024, new business volumes were 17% higher than in the same period in 2023.
“The distribution of new business by purpose of loan in October showed that the proportion of new agreements which were for the consolidation of existing loans was 58.4%; for home improvements and the consolidation of existing loans was 23.3%; and for home improvements only was 12.4%.”
Latest News
NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?
The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.
Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
© 2019 Perspective Publishing Privacy & Cookies
Recent Stories