British savers are shoring up more cash in their accounts as they prepare for the impact of an uncertain economy on their finances, a high street banking report suggests.

The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said personal deposits have been growing more strongly in recent months, and annual growth stood at 4.8 per cent in November.

In the first 11 months of 2016, personal deposits grew by £32.4 billion collectively, compared with a £19.8 billion increase over the same period in 2015.

Meanwhile, the rate of growth in people’s borrowing on credit cards, overdrafts and personal loans has slowed down, despite strong retail sales, the BBA said.

Annual growth in consumer credit – which includes these types of borrowing – fell back to around six per cent in November following an annual rise of over seven per cent in October. The BBA said low interest rates are helping to support growth in consumer credit.

Meanwhile, the number of mortgage approvals made to home buyers was nine per cent lower in November than a year earlier.

Some 40,659 loans were approved for house purchase in November, marking a fall of around nine per cent on the 44,463 mortgages approved for this purpose in the same month of 2015. But the number of remortgage approvals is running higher than a year ago, with 26,975 approvals for this purpose recorded in November, compared with 23,666 in the same month of 2015.

The BBA’s figures also show borrowing by non-financial companies decreased by £1.2 billion in November. It said lower demand for finance may reflect companies reducing investment plans and preferring to use internal funds rather than to borrow.