1 May 2007
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has revealed that soaring house prices are having a knock-on effect on consumers' borrowing patterns, with substantially lower numbers taking out personal loans.
Secured loans were also found to have dropped, as had the number of approved home loans. David Dooks, one of the directors of the BBA, said that it was clear that the continually rising interest rates and the increase in house prices were the causes of lower borrowing figures.
He told The Independent that unsecured lending had slowed during March, with borrowing on credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts all down sharply compared to figures taken at the same time last year.
Despite the news that the number of borrowers is falling, financial analysts are still fairly confident that the Bank of England's monetary policy committee will be forced to raise the base rate of interest by another quarter point next week, making the interest rate 5.5%.
Sometimes a personal loan is a good choice, perhaps you want to consolidate your credit cards or buy a new car. Whatever your needs, let uSwitch.com help you find one to suit. We're impartial and comprehensive and won't charge you for using our service. Compare personal loans and apply online.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
Content for the uSwitch.com market news service is provided by a third party, Adfero Ltd. Whilst uSwitch.com makes reasonable efforts to check the reliability of this content, uSwitch.com does not guarantee the accuracy thereof or endorse the views or opinions given by Adfero Ltd, unless expressly stated otherwise.