The past two years or so has seen us enter into what is being called a recession. the fundamental thing behind this recession was the meltdown of the banks that occurred.
The collapse was due to the banks getting over ambitious and lending recklessly to people that were never going to be able to afford to repay all their debts. In the end though, the whole thing had to come crashing down, with at least one major institution collapsing and a few of the major banks needing to be helped out by the Government.
So what happened next? With the banking world in virtual meltdown, the banks had to do something in order to shore up their fragile positions. After the bailout, the majority of the banks decided that they would keep hold of as much money as they could so they stopped lending money, creating the ‘credit crunch’. Also by selling off parts of their business, some of the banks were able to raise much needed cash. However, some just decided to retire from the marketplace.
In the world of personal finance, there were over 15 lenders offering secured loans in one form or another and several companies offering unsecured loans. Today there around 6 companies offering secured loans, 3 of those only coming into the market place very recently. Trying to get an unsecured loan at the moment is nigh on impossible as the lenders have tightened their belts. The banks are really only interested in giving loans to their existing customers.
There have been some high profile casualties in the industry. First Plus was one of the first to close its doors. Barclays, who owned First Plus, called time pretty early on much to the surprise of everyone. Along with some other minor unsecured lenders, Welcome Finance was another household name to go. Only recently, Blackhorse Finance withdrew from the personal credit market leaving a huge void in the market for loans for tenants.
The financial industry is still trying to recover from the problems it faced. Things are not all that better even today and the unsecured market is a real problem. Things are a little easier if you are a homeowner wanting to borrow several thousand pounds and have sufficient equity in your home. Non-homeowners are still struggling to find finance if they cannot get a loan from their bank. Interestingly enough, personal loan rates are at their lowest rate for nearly two years, having tumbled earlier this year, which has generated a little competition between lenders.
For people seeking a smallish amount of money, they may find solace in the Payday Loan Companies that have risen in numbers and popularity over the last few years. These instant decision loans, or payday loans, have had a meteoric rise in popularity due to there being no real alternative in the marketplace.
Will there ever be a return to the crazy lending that has taken place over the last fifteen years or so? It is unlikely to get as bloated and carefree as once was but there will always be a requirement for credit so as things start to recover, I expect a few more lenders to start up.





