Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has discussed with the Governor of the Bank of England the recent rise in consumer credit; and if he will make a statement.

The Chancellor has regular discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England on the economy and matters relating to financial stability.

The independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC), which includes the Governor and a non-voting member from HM Treasury, was set up by the government to assess and mitigate financial stability risks. The FPC recently published the Financial Stability Report (FSR) which included an assessment of recent trends in the consumer credit market. The FSR noted that consumer credit has been growing rapidly but that loss rates on consumer credit lending are low at present.