Credit card and personal loan new business grew by 11% compared with May 2016, while retail store and online credit new business increased by 3%. Second charge mortgage new business grew 26%, partially caused by changes in the mortgage rules.

The only area seeing a decline was consumer car finance, which fell 1% by value and 13% by volume in May, compared with the same month in 2016. This is in line with the fall in private new car sales over the same period.

In April, the Bank of England raised concerns over the level of consumer lending and said banks needed to ensure their lending practices were sound. The savings ratio has dropped to historically low levels, suggesting that people are increasingly dipping into their savings to meet day-to-day spending.

Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: “Consumer finance new business provided by FLA members increased in the first five months of 2017 by 5%. The annual rate of new business growth has slowed from a recent peak of 11% in the twelve month period to May 2016, to 6% in the same period in 2017.”