Cost of borrowing has surged in last 12 months
The cost of borrowing has soared in the last year as the days of cheap credit seem to have come to an end, new research has shown. Data conducted by price comparison site Moneyfacts.co.uk found that unsecured personal loans for small amounts have been subject to the most pronounced increases, with the cost of a loan of £1,000 surging by 4.1 per cent in the last year. The rise has brought the average interest rate charged on a loan of this sum to 18.5 per cent - up from 14.4 per cent in March 2007. However, many providers are charging much more, in particular Black Horse, which offers a £1,000 loan with an interest rate of 27.9 per cent. Michelle Slade, an analyst with Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: "Anyone looking to take out a loan in 2008 is going to find themselves faced with having to shell out more by way of monthly repayments than they would have done over the last couple of years. "The ongoing credit crisis has seen institutions concentrating on getting money in the door and becoming more expensive and selective when lending money out."
Share this..
Related stories
UK government to introduce public-sector pension levy
It is widely rumoured that the UK government is looking at introducing a pension levy on the public sector which would see public-sector workers contributing an additional 2.5% of their salary to be able to enjoy current benefits in the future. This move would raise around £3.2 billion a year for the UK government and begin to reduce the potential £1 trillion black hole in public finances caused...
Read MoreBank of England keeps base rates on hold
As expected, the Bank of England today confirmed that UK base rates will remain at 0.5% for the foreseeable future. While this was fully expected by analysts and observers, there was an interesting turn with regards to the quantitative easing program which has been in the headlines of late. Many people had expected the UK government to be on the end of a request from the Bank of England for a furt...
Read MoreIs Marks And Spencer Looking To Reduce Staff Numbers?
News that Marks and Spencer (M & S) is in talks with business development staff about changing the redundancy packages which are offered to staff does not bode well for the immediate future. As you might expect, the move has met with widespread criticism from within Union circles with the GMB union particularly vocal in their concerns. So what is happening?
It has been revealed th...
How can the UK government get businesses back onside?
Only a few months ago we saw a number of smaller companies suggesting they may look to relocate overseas because of the aggressive tax strategies introduced by the UK government. While many dismissed these threats as straws in the wind, over the last few days we have seen the likes of Diageo and Unilever suggesting they would consider relocating overseas unless the tax environment in the UK become...
Read MoreBarclays bank ridicules UK government remuneration guidelines
Barclays Bank, or to be more precise 45 bankers from Barclays Bank, are set to ridicule the UK government's banking remuneration guidelines of the future. The 45 in question have set up a company in the Cayman Islands over which the UK government has no jurisdiction, in order to manage Barclays Bank's toxic debt. So what exactly is going on?
In a smart piece of financial wizardry, B...