An expected seasonal influence in the latest credit data

The latest Centrix data shows consumer credit demand is up 9.4 percent year on year - driven by stronger mortgage applications and elevated personal loan borrowing through the holiday period.

Chief Operating Officer Monika Lacey says meanwhile, arrears rose slightly - with 471-thousand people behind in their payments.

She says the good news on arrears however, is that they are down on the same time last year - so we are starting to see a trend of year on year improvement.