Lending levels in UK slow, data from banking industry shows

British consumers increased their borrowing at the slowest pace in more than a year-and-a-half in May and banks offered fewer mortgages, data from the country’s banking industry showed yesterday, adding to signs of a slowdown in the economy.

Annual consumer lending growth slowed to 5.1% in May, down sharply from 6.4% in April and its weakest increase since October 2015, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said.

Banks approved 40,347 mortgages for house purchase last month, down from 40,686 in April and the smallest monthly number since September.