The Fed data on consumer credit is now more than a month old.

Consumer credit averaged $4.42 billion a month during 1988 and 1989.

The level of consumer credit increased by $3 billion in May, to $1.224 trillion.

Consumer credit grew $3.7 billion in October, a 7.4 percent annual rate of increase.

Consumer credit grew at an annual rate of 2.7 percent in September.

It used to be assumed that consumer credit always rose, no matter what.

It would not help to develop a genuine single market in consumer credit.

"Consumer credit in general is fairly new" to China, he added.

So far building society inroads into consumer credit have been small.

No matter how you measure it, consumer credit as a proportion of income is at a record high.