REGION ROUNDUP: North America.

(From Cards International)

* The US Federal Reserve says that total unsecured US consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in January, up from 2.5 percent in December 2006. Revolving credit, which mostly consists of credit card lending, rose by an annual rate of 1.1 percent in January, down from 1.9 percent in December 2006. Non-revolving credit rose at an annual rate of 4.4 percent in January, up from 2.9 percent in December 2006. Total consumer credit outstanding rose to $2.41 trillion in January from $2.40 trillion in December. Revolving credit rose to $879.4 billion in January from $878.5 billion in December, and non- revolving credit was $1.532 trillion, up from $1.526 trillion.

* The US credit card business in the first quarter of 2007 was driven by low interest rate and balance transfer cards, says CreditCards.com, the credit card comparison site. These cards are popular with consumers recovering from Christmas holiday spending, it says. For the week to 15 March, low-interest cards charged an annual …