consumer credit

noun

|Updated on: 18 Aug 2018

Definition of consumer credit

: credit granted to an individual especially to finance the purchase of consumer goods or to defray personal expenses

Recent Examples of consumer credit from the Web

Economists expect the Federal Reserve to announce Thursday that outstanding consumer credit gains picked up moderately to $14 billion in April from $11.6 billion the prior month.

— paul davidson, USA TODAY, "Did job openings stay near record level? Workers can only hope," 4 June 2018
The legislation, however, also made some changes to the federal law dictating consumer credit rules.

— ann carrns, New York Times, "New Law Will Let Consumers ‘Freeze’ Credit Files Without Charge," 1 June 2018
The Lower House approved a bill creating a consumer credit-rating system, which is expected to reduce borrowing costs.

— paulo trevisani, WSJ, "Brazil’s New Finance Minister Hopeful Legislation Can Pass Before Elections," 11 May 2018
Also on tap are reports on service-sector activity and consumer credit.

— paul davidson, USA TODAY, "Did job openings stay near record level? Workers can only hope," 4 June 2018
Roll rates, losses for some credit programs are increasing Health of consumer loans is major barometer for economy The quality of Canadian consumer credit is beginning to deteriorate, according to Royal Bank of Canada credit analyst Vivek Selot.

— Bloomberg.com, "Cracks ‘Starting to Show’ in Canadian Credit Quality, RBC Says," 9 Apr. 2018
Reports on manufacturing and service-sector activity, as well as consumer credit, will also be released.

— paul davidson, USA TODAY, "Employment trend? March jobs report highlights the week's economic news," 2 Apr. 2018
British regulators are grappling with a surge in consumer credit, led by motor finance, which can pose risks to banks and the economy.

— stefania spezzati, Bloomberg.com, "Higher U.K. Car-Finance Defaults Add to Consumer-Credit Risk," 15 Mar. 2018
The additional amount over the maximum damages is intended for paying the plaintiff's attorneys, according to Free Press interviews with several Michigan lawyers who do consumer credit cases.

— jc reindl, Detroit Free Press, "Credit repair attorney accused of charging for 'free' legal service," 24 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'consumer credit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of consumer credit

1925

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Law Dictionary

consumer credit

noun

legal Definition of consumer credit

: credit extended by merchants or banks to finance the purchase of consumer goods (as home appliances) or services (as travel or hotel accommodations) — compare consumer debt at debt