U.K. CLEARING BANK LENDING RISES SHARPLY IN MAY
Clearing bank sterling lending to the
private sector in May is estimated to have risen by an
underlying, seasonally adjusted 3.5 billion stg compared with
1.3 billion stg in April and a recent monthly average of 1.4
billion, the Banking Information Service said.
    The unadjusted rise was 2.77 billion stg, up from 844 mln
in April.
    The May surge in borrowing from the clearing banks was
prompted by the fall in base rates, which reached nine pct on
May 11, the Banking Information Service said. Borrowing through
bill finance and other sources shrank.
    The increase in lending in May was seen in most categories,
the Banking Information Service said.
    In the personal sector, on an unadjusted basis, mortgage
lending rose 544 mln stg compared with 471 mln in April.
General consumption went up 399 mln against 355 mln, though
credit card debt rose only 55 mln compared with 161 mln.
    Financial sector borrowing was up 734 mln stg in May
compared with a net repayment of 60 mln the previous month.
    Unadjusted private sector deposits increased by 2.37
billion stg against 1.16 billion. Sterling attracted an extra
955 mln stg in deposits from abroad after little change in
April.
 REUTER
