Any
loan or
line of credit that a
borrower uses to purchase goods and
services at the
retail level. Typically, consumer credit
finances any
asset that
depreciates quickly and is not used for investment purposes.
Credit cards are a common example of consumer credit because one pays for ordinary
expenses such as groceries or gasoline with a credit card; one ordinarily would not purchase
stock with a credit card. Loans for education and cars are also examples of consumer credit. However, consumer credit expressly excludes loans for
real estate.