Consumers hinted at a greater appetite for borrowing through mortgages, loans and credit cards in the summer, figures have suggested.
Household borrowing on unsecured credit rose by £76m in August - the first increase in four years, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said.
Borrowers took a safety-first approach during the financial crisis, generally paying back more than new borrowing.
Now, mortgage approvals for house purchases are at a four-high high.
The BBA said that government schemes to kick-start the housing market were assisting first-time buyers to get on the ladder and speeding up housing chains.
The number of home loans approved for house purchases by the major High Street banks stood at 38,228 in August, the BBA said. This was a 2.1% rise from the previous month and a sign that housing market activity continued to rise.
"These figures suggest that consumer confidence is growing," said David Dooks, BBA statistics director.
Source: BBC News - Business http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24223448#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
