Overtime,
lenders in the UK are growing more and more cautious as to who to and not to
lend money. As a result, the procedures that surround unsecured loans have
grown more tedious and the credit checks, more thorough. In such an
environment, we have several different potential repercussions. One of this
heap of different repercussions, according to me, is masses turning towards the
alternative. I mean obviously, if you cannot get coffee, you will consider tea,
or if you cannot get washing powder, you will consider washing liquid.
Similarly, for those unable to get access to unsecured loans, the next best
alternative seems like the immediate substitute – secured loans. So, it is safe
to say that increases in popularity of secured loans is not solely a function
of the benefits such loans accompany but also the troubles that the substitutes
put us through.
To
give you a peek at the numbers that corroborate the above mentioned
information, I have set aside supporting statistics. If we rewind back to a
year ago, around this time in 2012, the average lending per month was about £33
million. If you think this is astonishing, I think you will love what is next.
While this figure may be quite high on its own, we saw a startling increase to
about £42 million in the first three months of this year, showing us more
clearly than ever the high demand for secured loans. Upon comparison, the
figures over the last 12 months show a 47% increase, which is by no means
ordinary.
Numbers
are statistics and these statistics represent increasing penchant for the
people of the UK for these loans. However, does that really mean that the
secured loans industry is doing more business than it was? Or does it mean that
we are just writing higher cheques? A further look into the situation allows us
to see that the lenders have actually increased the upper limits on the loans
they give, allowing borrowers to get access to much bigger amounts. This
explains the increasing figures and thus, show that while there may still exist
the fact that an increasing number of people are turning towards these loans,
extending limits has also added to the numbers.