The inaugural CreditExpert/ Ipsos MORI research polled c2,000 people across Britain and will track consumers' current credit confidence and future expectations on a quarterly basis, establishing Britain's first ever consumer credit confidence index.
For the forthcoming six months, consumer confidence is high, with a third (32%) of borrowers expecting to decrease their current level of debt. Only 11% expect an increase. Of the 13% who are uncomfortable with their level of debt, 51% expect this to decrease in the next six months. Meanwhile, 70% of financially-confident British borrowers, whose debts have decreased in the past six months, expect to reduce their debt even further in the coming months.
London's high house prices, which are on average 50% higher than the UK average, combined with the higher cost of living in the capital, appear to be having a significant impact on credit confidence. The net confidence of Londoners about meeting their monthly household bills and repayments on time is rated as just 47% in contrast to all other regions, where confidence rates range from 74% in the East Midlands to 91% in the South West.
This reported comfort with current borrowing levels is based on low levels of knowledge for some, with 21% of people admitting they have no idea whether they have a good or bad credit score. Although Britons have an average of five credit agreements each, only 5% say they have requested to see their credit report. Credit report information includes peoples recent credit history and strongly influences credit scores and lending decisions.
Tags: borrowers, consumer confidence, consumer credit
