The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has released its latest statistics for consumer lending and saving, which it says reflects a significant sea change in the attitude of consumers.
On the headline issue of mortgages, the net lending level in the year to April was up 4.3 per cent, down from 4.5 per cent in March but much higher than the one per cent overall increase in the size of the market, the body observed.
But while mortgages have only grown gradually, other lending has fallen back, with the past 12 months seeing a 2.6 per cent decline in consumer credit, something the BBA put down to "subdued spending".
While this was going on, individual saving account deposits rose by six per cent in the past year, although the overall level of deposits was less than in previous years.
Perhaps the most telling statistic was that the level of gross mortgage lending was down to £8.2 billion in April from the six-month average of £9.1 billion, while at the same time the BBA noted that repayments were above the norm "as banks actively encouraged borrowers to use surplus cash to reduce their borrowing where possible".
Commenting on these trends, BBA director of statistics David Dooks remarked: "Household priorities are clearly reflected in these latest data, with people paying down debt rather than building up savings, even in the main Isa season."
Reflecting on the news, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) chief economist Simon Rubinsohn took a different angle. He suggested that the relatively unfavourable mortgage figures were largely a consequence of the rush of purchases that occurred late in 2009 before the stamp duty holiday expired.
Furthermore, he argued, the impact of incentives for first-time buyers introduced before the election "is likely to become increasingly visible in the mortgage data over the coming months", with Rics members already reporting increased enquiry levels from this group.
So while many are reining in their mortgage and other borrowing, it seems one group of people may be poised to increase theirs.
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