BRITONS showed signs of heeding warnings about debt levels last month, according to the Bank of England, which reported a slowdown in lending in May.
The amount borrowed by individuals rose by £10.2bn last month - down on the £10.7bn increase in April - as higher interest rates began to affect mortgage lending.
Consumer credit levels remained strong, with the total amount owed through mortgages, credit cards, overdrafts and loans on the brink of the £1trillion barrier, at £993bn, by the end of last month.
While the bank said secured lending grew by £8.6bn in May - £800m weaker than the increase in April - the number of loans approved for house purchase in May still grew to 127,000, from the three-month average of 126,000.
The £1.6bn growth in consumer credit last month was £300m stronger than the increase in April.
The figures were collated before a further rate rise to 4.5 per cent and the strongest warning yet from bank governor Mervyn King about unsustainable debt levels.
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