--UK Mar consumer credit 0.813 bln stlg
--UK Mar net personal borrowing 4.622 bln stlg
--UK Mar lending secured on dwellings 3.809 bln stlg
--UK Mar house loan approvals value 12.349 bln stlg
--UK Mar house loan approvals number 104,000
--UK Mar credit card borrowing 210 mln stlg

London, May 2 (BridgeNews) - Growth in consumer credit lending slowed in March but housing market lending continued to expand, according to figures published by the Bank of England on Wednesday. Consumer credit lending rose 813 million sterling from March, down from 1.073 billion in February and below the 1.0 billion sterling markets had expected. However, housing market lending rose 3.809 billion sterling, up from February's 3.470 billion sterling.
* * * In percentage terms, consumer credit rose 11.2% on the year, the slowest rate of growth since December 1994.
However, there was also some evidence that housing market lending is set to pick up even further in the months ahead. Figures for housing loan approvals, a forward-looking indicator of future housing market activity, picked up from February. The number of loan approvals rose to 104,000 from February's 101,000 while the value of loan approvals hit 12.349 billion sterling, up from 11.317 billion sterling in February. The value of loans approved in March was the highest on record since the series started in 1993.
Within consumer credit, net credit card borrowing was just 210 million sterling down from 461 million sterling in February, and the lowest since April 1997.
The figures for loan approvals are in line with the latest data released by the British Bankers Association and indicate that while some consumer borrowing may be slowing the housing market remains robust.