Level of unsecured lending debt increases by 10%

The Bank of England has released it’s latest Money & Credit statistics for January 2017. In response to the statistics, Peter Tutton, Head of Policy at StepChange Debt Charity, said: “While the consumer credit growth rate has slowed, the level of outstanding unsecured debt continues to increase by more than 10% year on year and another £1 billion is outstanding from January. Borrowing is still increasing at levels not seen since late 2005, when household debt problems were rising.”

“When borrowing rises more quickly than wages, it can leave more households exposed to persistent debt. We are currently experiencing record demand for our services and as households take on more debt, it could greatly increase their vulnerability. Responsible lending is still critically important and the need for better protections for people who do fall into difficulty continues to increase.”

The full report can be found here.