Focus: UK debt levels

Contact: Bruno Rost, Head of PR, Experian's Business Strategies Division
bruno.rost@uk.experian.com 

For the first time, global information services company, Experian, has released data on total debt levels for major towns and cities in the UK. The new UK debt report provides details on debt balances for all outstanding mortgages, credit cards, loans and overdrafts for major UK towns and cities.

The report shows that total outstanding balances on borrowing rose 9.2 per cent over the past 12 months from £1.06 trillion to £1.16 trillion. However it reveals that debt growth has slowed from the previous twelve months period, where the increase was 14 per cent.

Looking at combined debt balances by town/region (i.e. mortgages, loans, HP, credit cards and overdrafts), the analysis shows that Northern Ireland has experienced the largest change per head, up almost 23 per cent over the last 12 months. This is followed by Kensington, Chelsea, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Wolverhampton.

Total credit card borrowing has not increased significantly over the past 12 months (+1.25 per cent) and has slowed over the last two years, where it rose by 2.4 per cent. Negligible growth in credit card balances suggests that consumers themselves have also taken a more responsible approach to borrowing, looking to lower cost and more affordable credit products or even to cut down on borrowing altogether.

The growth in mortgage balances is largely down to house price inflation. Geographical analysis of balance changes shows it has occurred in areas where prices have risen in the last 12 months. The main growth in balances was in the relatively less affluent northern centres, while as last year it was mostly blue chip London locations, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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