Consumer lending in the United Kingdom - statistics & facts

Consumer lending in its simplest terms is essentially the lending of money for personal use, family, or household spending. Unlike larger loans that are secured against either assets or property, consumer loans in large are unsecured (except vehicle loans) and therefore come with a risk to both the financial body that supplied the payment and the individual that must pay back the loan. Consumer loans are generally used to stay ahead of bills, pay for goods, buy motor vehicles, furniture, or make home improvements. The gross new consumer lending in the United Kingdom (UK) has been slowly increasing during the past decade, except during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most new monthly consumer loans, with student loans excluded, were credit card loans.

The largest lenders in the UK

Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, Santander UK, HSBC, and Nationwide Building Society were the main providers of loans to customers in the United Kingdom. That includes both mortgages and consumer loans. Among the credit providers mentioned above, Banco Santander was the only foreign organization. Although its headquarters are in Spain, Santander granted significantly more loans in the UK. It is also relevant to know that only a small share of the loans provided by Nationwide was for consumer lending, with most of them being mortgages.

Mortgage and consumer lending compared

The outstanding amount of consumer credit was very small compared to the outstanding amount of lending secured on housing. Outstanding consumer credit to individuals only represented between 10 and 15 percent of the total value of lending secured for housing. The value of gross mortgage lending dropped markedly in 2020, but it had a strong recovery in 2021. Nevertheless, the largest decline in the value of new mortgage lending occurred between 2007 and 2009. The monthly volume of new consumer credit did not have such a sharp decrease as the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007, but the start of the COVID-19 pandemic did have a big impact on that type of lending.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Aug 31, 2023

Key insights

Total gross consumer lending in the UK
29.78bn GBP
Outstanding amount of consumer credit to individuals in the UK
212bn GBP
Y-o-Y change of UK consumer loans
7%
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Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Number of credit card accounts in the United Kingdom (UK) from January 2012 to July 2022 (in millions)

Payments

Monthly number of credit card accounts in the UK 2012-2022

Share of consumer credit loan write-offs in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2018 to 2020, with forecasts until 2024

Loans & Leasing

Share of consumer credit loan write-offs in the United Kingdom (UK) 2018-2024

Number of cars bought on finance by consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) from October 2020 to September 2022 (in 1,000s)

Loans & Leasing

Cars bought on finance by consumers and businesses in the UK 2020-2022

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Non-performing loans and write-offs

3

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Largest lenders in the UK

12

Largest lenders in the UK

Further reportsGet the best reports to understand your industry

Credit cards in the United States
Credit cards in the United States
Personal savings in the United States
Personal savings in the United States
Personal debt in the United States
Personal debt in the United States
Credit cards and debit cards in the United Kingdom (UK)
Credit cards and debit cards in the United Kingdom (UK)
Personal debt in the United Kingdom
Personal debt in the United Kingdom
Mortgages in the United Kingdom (UK)
Mortgages in the United Kingdom (UK)
Mortgage market in Western European countries
Mortgage market in Western European countries

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