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mpc: 20 Not all the indicators for consumption were positive, however. The recent falls in equity prices, if sustained, were likely to have a modest dampening effect on consumption growth; recent housing market data had been somewhat mixed; and the three-month growth rate of unsecured lending had continued to slow quite sharply. It was difficult to know how much weight to attach to this latter development. If the slowdown were related to a tightening in credit conditions by banks, it might have contributed to the slowdown in consumption growth in Q1. At the same time, however, the growth rate of households' secured lending had remained strong. It was possible that households were choosing to incorporate some of their unsecured debts into their secured borrowing, thereby lowering their cost of finance. Alternatively, household spending growth may have been supported by sales of financial assets or by faster income growth.