There has been a further rise in the amount of credit card lending being written off by UK banks and other financial institutions.

Figures from the Bank of England show that write-offs rose to £1.25bn in the first three months of 2010.

That was the second-highest quarterly amount on record.

Last year, a record £4.12bn was written off by credit card lenders, amounting to about 10% of all money lent on credit cards.

The amount of money written off on mortgages fell to £160m, the lowest quarterly figure for 18 months, as house prices rose again and the number of homes being repossessed fell back.

The number of repossessions the UK fell by 7.5% in the first three months of 2010, from 10,600 in the last three months of 2009 to 9,800.

Source: BBC News