Over £4.9 billion was lent to consumers by members of the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) members during September 2011, higher than in the same month the previous year.

Growth was seen in car finance, second-charge mortgages and personal loans, but High Street credit continued to shrink, with store card lending down by 15% and store instalment credit by 11% compared with September 2010.

£29 million of secured loans was lent, a 7% increase year-on-year. It beings to the total lent in second charges for the year so far to £81 million.

Fiona Hoyle, the FLA’s head of consumer finance, said: “September’s consumer credit borrowing shows a slight improvement on last year