UK household debt soars to £1.5 trillion
Staff Writer | November 8, 2016
UK household debt has swollen to £1.5 trillion in the UK for the first time, with indebtedness growing at the fastest rate since before the credit crunch of 2007.
Britain Calculations by the Money Charity
Following a recent low of £1.36 trillion in December 2011, calculations by the Money Charity put growth in the last five year at £140bn to over £1.5 trillion this month, which is £55,683 per household and £1,037 extra per adult.
Adults in the UK owe on average nearly £30,000 each, which around 113.7% of average total annual earnings and 83% of the country's annual economic output.
Majority of this debt (87%) is in the form of mortgages secured by property with gross mortgage lending at £20.5bn. Individuals also owe an average of £3,737 in loans and credit cards. Outstanding consumer credit lending was £188.7bn at the end of September and total net lending to individuals by Banks and building societies rose by £4.7bn or £157m a day.
The Office for Budget Responsibility's July 2015 forecast predicts household debt will rise further to £2.6 trillion in the first quarter of 2021, raising the average household debt to £94,481.
The charity also highlighted that in the same time, government debt also grew by £108m a day and £4,090 per second.
The charity's figures come after the Bank of England last week warned inflation rates are likely to rise to 2.7% in 2017. ■
