Lending has accelerated since the recession, as intense competition has made credit easy for most people to come by. Mortgage lending has grown despite the FCA’s Mortgage Market Review in 2014, which implemented tighter lending criteria and caused a capacity crunch.

Against a backdrop of low interest rates, people’s relationship with credit is changing. The recession has started to fade from memory, and people are becoming more comfortable with taking on unsecured debt. However, consumers still strive to live within their means and still see the value in aspiring to low or zero debt even now that personal finances have started to recover. There will always be a place for debt with the British public, but there are opportunities to create a more positive relationship between creditor and debtor that protects the interests of both parties.

This report examines consumers’ attitudes towards debt and their use of credit products. The report looks at how much is owed and on what types of product, as well as how consumers are managing their debt and likely sources of credit in the future. The report also looks at more general attitudes towards the market for credit.

This report examines both secured and unsecured lending. For the purposes of the report, these two types of credit are defined as follows:

Secured lending – lending that is secured against a property, ie the ownership of the property is at risk if repayments are not made to clear the debt. This is primarily mortgages used to purchase properties, but also includes homeowner loans, where homeowners borrow additional funds secured against their home.

Unsecured lending – any type of lending that does not fit the definition of secured lending, ie lending that is not secured against a property. This includes a wide range of consumer credit product such as credit cards, personal loans and current account overdraft facilities. Please note that this definition also includes car finance plans which can be secured against the vehicle being purchased.