Lenders reported that the availability of secured credit to households had decreased in the three months to end‑August 2018 (Q3) and was expected to decrease again over the next three months to end‑November 2018 (Q4).

The availability of unsecured credit to households was reported to have decreased slightly in Q3 and was expected to decrease further in Q4. Credit scoring criteria for total unsecured loan applications were reported to have tightened in Q3, although the proportion of applications approved increased.

The overall availability of credit to the corporate sector was reported to have been unchanged in Q3. Within this, the availability of credit provided to small businesses was reported to have increased in Q3, and was unchanged for medium and large businesses. The overall availability of credit to the corporate sector was expected to decrease slightly in Q4.