Secured Loan Borrowing Popularity Continues to Rise

The popularity of secured loan borrowing continues to rise as consumers use them to borrow money with lower interest rates and longer repayment periods.

With the value of properties in the UK dramatically increasing in recent years, home owners have found themselves with more equity (the difference between their property value and any finance secured on it) in their homes than they expected. This has given people the ability to take out large loans over longer periods of time and at lower interest rates.

In the final quarter of last year, secured borrowing rose to over £14.5 billion, which was an increase of £2.5 billion on the revised figure for the quarter. These figures are the highest since 2004. Many of these loans were home improvement loans - used to increase the value of the property.