25 June 2007
Consumers are managing their debt more efficiently, a leading debt consultancy has claimed.
According to Thomas Charles, levels of credit card debt in the UK are now falling thanks to an increased awareness about personal spending.
However the company warned that this drop in spending could be due to people paying off debt accumulated ten or even fifteen years ago.
The comments come as recent figures from the British Bankers Association (BBA) show more consumers paying off credit card debts than taking out new loans.
Last month, the total stock of credit card lending by banks fell by 409 million.
Commenting on the trend, James Falla, Managing Director of debt consultancy Thomas Charles, said: "There have been a couple of reports over the past six months or so saying that the overall borrowing is reducing and that savings have increased.
"I suppose the policy line would be interest rates have gone up and people are tailing their consumer spending because of their increased cost of living and because mortgages have gone up.
"Perhaps the message is starting to get through [and] additional borrowing is starting to reduce," he suggested.
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