U.K. Consumer Debt Exceeds 1 Trillion Pounds for First Time

[Kellanved]

July 29 (Bloomberg) -- Britons' personal debts exceeded 1 trillion pounds ($1.8 trillion) in June for the first time and consumer credit rose at the fastest pace in almost two years, indicating four interest rate increases since November have done little to damp consumer demand.

Total personal debt now matches the size of Europe's second largest economy and is the highest since records began in 1993, the Bank of England said. Net consumer credit, which includes lending on credit cards and store lines of credit, rose 2.1 billion pounds, the biggest jump since October 2002.

``The borrowing binge carries on,'' said Martin McMahon, a senior economist at Lombard Street Research in London. ``It is clear that the bank still has plenty of tightening work to do.''

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Debt now totals about $30,875 per person in the U.K., compared with about $30,300 in the U.S.


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http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=a7hzNC7o2_jk&refer=home

[Centre_Left]

1. Somehow...

...its reassuring to know that consumers everywhere can be just stupid as us Americans. Sort of gives me that "It's a small world after all" kind of feeling.