Borrowers' safety-first approach to borrowing on credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts appears to have eased, consumer credit figures show.
 
Some £500m was borrowed above repayments in January, up from £265m in the previous month.

Within this, net credit card borrowing increased by £171m and other loans and advances increased by £330m.

Repayments had outstripped borrowing for most of the second half of 2009 as borrowers also found it difficult to secure further loans.

For the 11th month in a row, savers took out more money than they deposited in building societies. This reached £755m in January, in figures which now include the mutually-owned Co-op Bank - which owns the former Britannia Building Society.

Adrian Coles, director general of the Building Societies Association (BSA) said "January is typically a challenging month for savers as many start to repay debt accumulated over Christmas."

Nonetheless, mutuals will continue to find it difficult to attract savers as long as the Bank rate remains low and the market is distorted by part-nationalised banks."

He welcomed the move that would end the 100% guarantee on savings held with Northern Rock. In three months' time, the safety net will revert to the first £50,000 for each saver in Northern Rock that is offered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.