Borrowing crisis would kick in at 8.5% rates

In the latest edition of its ‘Borrowing Monitor’ the bank shows although mortgage borrowing has continued to grow rapidly, the level of credit card and personal loan debt has diminished. It points out credit card borrowing grew at its slowest rate on record last year, which at 4% is below the level of inflation, while unsecured personal borrowing also grew at its slowest rate since 1994. The research, which is based on interviews with 2,993 people carried out by YouGov, reveals since July homeowners with mortgages have actually reduced the level of unsecured debt by around £197, or 3%. A...