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Secured Loans > Consumer borrowing leaps by £1.2 billion
Consumer borrowing has escalated by as much as £1.2 billion from February to March of this year, the steepest rise since the financial crisis of 2007 to 2008, says the Bank of England.
The sharpest increase was in loans, overdrafts and other types of unsecured borrowing, accounting for £1.1 billion of the rise, according to Bank of England figures.
Credit card lending and mortgage borrowing remained largely flat. In fact, March saw 180 fewer mortgage approvals than the previous month. Credit card lending increased over the same period but by a relatively modest £200 million.
The surge in loan and overdraft consumer borrowing is probably due to the fall in the interest rates commonly charged by lenders. According to the consumer finance website, ‘Moneyfacts,’ someone borrowing £5,000 twelve months ago would have had to pay charges of 9.1 per cent. He or she would only have to pay 8.1 per cent now, on the same amount.
Both charities and economists are warning that the sharp rise in borrowing may lead to an increase in debt difficulties for consumers.
Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, cautioned that consumers are likely to be increasing their amount of debt in order to fund their spending. The charity for those in debt, StepChange, expressed concern that the surge in borrowing indicates that many are turning to credit to make ends meet, without having the means to repay all of their debt.
However, the Insolvency Service has reported the lowest number of personal insolvencies for ten years. During the first quarter of 2015, only 20,825 people were declared insolvent, the lowest number since 2005 and a decrease of 18.6 per cent from twelve months ago, one of the sharpest falls since records began
Representative 22.93% APRC variable.
For a typical loan of £26,600 over 180 months with a variable interest rate of 19.56% per annum, your monthly repayments would be £484.00. This includes a Product Fee of £2,660.00 (10% of the loan amount) and a Lending Fee* of £763.00, bringing the total repayable amount to £87,030.00. Annual Interest Rates range between 11.7% to 46.5% (variable). Maximum 50.00% APRC. *Lending Fee varies by country: England & Wales £763, Scotland £1,051, Northern Ireland: £1,736.
Think carefully before securing debts against your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other loan secured against it. If you are thinking of consolidating existing borrowing, you should be aware that you may be extending the terms of the debt and increasing the total amount you repay.
