Latest UK Debt Statistics Released
Whilst the population of the UK is generally slowing down when it comes to taking on more debt through loans and credit cards and focusing on repaying their existing loans, the latest statistics on the state of the nation’s debt have revealed that the net repayment of loan debts through July this year is just a drop in the ocean compared to the level of personal debt held by consumers in the UK on their personal loans, homeowner loans and credit cards.
Although the total amount of lending to individuals fell by £0.6 billion over the course of July, the total level of personal debt in the UK currently stands at £1,457 billion.
Over the past twelve months, personal debt has increased by just £3.4 billion, compared with £116 billion for the previous twelve months and July has been the first month since records began, where there has been a net repayment in the amount of personal debt, with around £0.4 billion being repaid on secured loans and homeowner loans and a further £0.2 billion on consumer credit lending, which includes unsecured loans and credit cards.
On average, the amount of debt owed by every adult in the UK is currently £30,188, which includes unsecured debt and also mortgages or homeowner loans. This equates to somewhere in the region of 130 per cent of average earnings. The average homeowner loan has an outstanding balance of £110,476 and excluding mortgages, the average household has debts of £9,226, although if we only include those households who have an existing unsecured loan, this figure rises to £21,457.
The UK population paid a total of £65.9 billion in loan interest alone over the course of the past twelve months, which equates to an average figure of £2,637 per household.
Consumers seem to be far more cautious in the current economic conditions. In July this year, personal debt actually decreased by around £1 million almost every two hours, whereas in January 2008, it was increasing by £1 million every 5.3 minutes.
