Household debt edged higher in February
Wednesday, 31 March 2010 09:34
By myfinances.co.uk staff
Average UK household debt including mortgages hit £58,083 in February, up from £58,040 the month before, according to new figures from Credit Action.
The charity said that the typical adult owes £30,328 including repayments on their home - 132% of average earnings.
Total lending grew by £2.1 billion in February, down from an increase of £8.4 billion the month before.
Secured lending was £1.6 billion higher, while consumer credit lending through personal loans and credit cards was up by £0.5 billion.
Overall consumer credit lending stood at £225 billion at the end of the month.
Interest payments on all personal debt totalled £68.4 billion in the year ending in February, with each household paying an average of £2,716 in annual interest on its borrowings.
Credit Action said that according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the typical family needs to spend around 15 per cent of its income just to service interest payments on debt.
It added that total personal debt in the UK stood at £1,464 billion in February, up 0.9 per cent in 12 months.
"Individuals owe more than what the whole country produces in a year," the charity said.
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