The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has revealed that consumer credit lending fell by 6% in 2010.

Furthermore, this figure was boosted by a relatively buoyant consumer car market. Without this, consumer credit fell by 10% during 2010.

Low levels of credit card spending over the festive period was partly responsible for the poor figures.

In December, for the second consecutive month, the take-up of personal loans increased, but this was against a very low base in the final months of 2009.

Fiona Hoyle, the FLA’s head of consumer finance, said the figures proved there was no such thing as ‘easy credit’.

She said: “Stricter lending requirements under the new EU Consumer Credit Directive mean that some consumers are finding it harder to access credit. Low consumer confidence is also a major factor in this fall in lending.