UK lenders offer more credit card, loan repayment freezes

LONDON, May 29 (Reuters) – British banks and other lenders have given nearly 1.5 million repayment holidays to borrowers hit by the coronavirus shutdown, an increase of more than a quarter since the start of May, an industry group said on Friday.

As of May 21, 877,800 credit cards accounts had been given a payment freeze, up 26% from May 1, and 608,000 holidays were granted on personal loans, up 30%, UK Finance said.

The group said last week that lenders had approved 1.8 million mortgage payment holidays. (Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by David Milliken)