Second charge loan volumes saw a slight increase of 4% in September 2016 year-on-year, Finance & Leasing Association statistics show.

In the third quarter of 2016 lending volumes were flat year-on-year, though annually to September they were 15% higher than the preceding 12 months.

Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: “Consumer confidence has been relatively robust in recent months, which is reflected by the consumer finance market’s solid performance in the third quarter.

“New business growth of 10% in the first nine months of 2016 was slightly ahead of the FLA’s single-digit growth expectations for 2016 as a whole.”

Consumer finance as a whole increased by 7% in Q3 2016 year-on-year, incorporating car finance, credit cards and personal loans, and retail store and online credit.