BANKING & FINANCE - Feb. 8, 1996

Consumer Credit Rises 9.3% in December: The annualized figure includes a hefty 14.2% increase in credit card use during the holiday shopping season. Growth in household debt has been the reason given by some banks that have begun tightening terms for loan approvals. The Federal Reserve Board said consumer borrowing rose $7.9 billion, compared with $9.8 billion in November, which was an annualized gain of 11.8%. The figures were adjusted for seasonal variations. The new borrowing boosted the total amount of consumer installment credit to $1.049 trillion at the end of 1995, up 13.4% from $925 billion in 1994. Consumer credit includes all household debt not secured by real estate.