The total amount of consumer credit outstanding stood at £455 billion at the end of 1995, a rise of 5 percent on 1994s figure and 21 percent higher than the 1991 figure. The data for consumer expenditure as well as consumer credit have both shown steady growth since the trough of the recession was passed in 1992.

Indeed, the last 12 months data indicates a revival in consumer confidence with net lending rising to £7.6 billion - a figure in excess of anything recorded in the credit boom of the late 1980s. With the burden of negative equity in the housing market now easing, the immediate prospects for the credit industry look bright.

In an increasingly competitive supply environment, new distribution channels are increasing the ease of access to banking and credit services and building society conversions are expanding the number of banks. Building society conversions are also loosening the ties of loyalty that had developed from mutual ownership.

As financial institutions offer people substantial incentives to move their credit card and mortgage accounts, so market conditions become ever more explosive. Such market conditions are resulting in the demand for services being less stable and a dwindling in the supply of reliable long-term customers.

Risk management has become important to banks who are all installing computer systems into branches that will enable them to arrange loans locally, but make decisions remotely, at head office or from regional computer centres.

As more suppliers choose to enter the market, so the circumventing of the traditional high street branch continues - this is highlighted by a consistent reduction in branch networks by the banks and building societies. At present closure rates, there will over 25 percent fewer outlets in the year 2001 than there were in 1990.

New entrants, particularly to the credit card sector, are declaring their intent almost on a daily basis. Credit cards can now be obtained from such diverse sources as the Automobile Association (AA), the Lakeside Shopping Centre and The Sun newspaper. Recent years have also seen a number of American institutions entering the market in a move likely to continue to force interest rates down.

As institutions move from focusing attention on the individual transaction to the entire relationship, so the power of the consumer becomes ever greater. Shifts in consumer attitudes and behaviour are therefore crucial to further developments in the credit industry.

Exclusive consumer research carried out for MAPS by the National Opinion Poll (NOP) highlights that most people still regard credit as being too easy to get (76 percent) - this is particularly strongly felt by women (81 percent). What the research highlights is that better communication of the responsibilities credit agreements entail is required - nearly three quarters of people (72 percent) feel that loan companies don't tell you what you could be getting into. This is an area that is particularly strongly felt among the youngest age group (18-24 year olds).

These attitudes are undoubtedly by-products of the spendthrift 1980s and the resultant overhang of debt that consumers have been faced with.

The research also indicated that women buy less on credit, are more worried how easy it is to get to the card limit and find it more embarrassing than men being in debt. These findings obviously have implications for suppliers in the way they market their products to each of the sexes.

A good level of awareness of the higher interest rates charged on storecards is also demonstrated in the research, with 68 percent of people agreeing that interest on credit for goods from store cards costs too much. As retailers seek to increase their role in the credit market, they will need to take account of the fact that consumers appear to be more financially aware than in the past.

Prospects for growth in the total consumer credit market will undoubtedly be influenced by the attitudes to credit highlighted in the MAPS research. MAPS does, however, expect reasonable levels of growth for the remainder of the decade, particularly in the credit card sector.

Increased consumer acceptance of plastic payments for everyday items and growth in the use of credit cards as a means of 'informally' accessing cash will be the main drivers in this sector.

The credit dependent consumer of the late 1980s is unlikely to reappear, however, and no financial institution will ever have it so good again as competition emerges from many different directions. Increasingly, credit providers will seek to add value to the basic credit product by offering insurance and general financial services. Ultimately the most successful operators will be those who are most responsive to the increasingly fickle consumer of the 1990s.