UK
personal debt increased 0.8 per cent year-on-year to £4,463 billion, by the end of January 2010.
Personal lending rose by £2 billion in January alone – made up of £0.5 billion on consumer credit and £1.5 billion in secured loans. As a point of comparison, in January 2008 total lending grew by a huge £8.4 billion - illustrating that consumers’ appetite for, and indeed the availability of,
personal debt has slowed down considerably.
The total value of consumer lending to individuals, including
personal loans, by the end of January was £225 billion.
Including
mortgages, average household debt totalled £58,040, while excluding
mortgages, household debts average £8,939. However, this figure increases dramatically to £18,623 if only households that have some kind of
personal debt are included.
In terms of interest paid on this debt, the average household pays £2,710 each year. The average person will spend 15 per cent of their income simply on serving the interest on their debt, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The average consumer debt, including
credit cards, overdrafts,
personal loans and finance deals is £4,467, as of January 2010.
These figures were compiled by Debt Facts and Figures in March 2010.
