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The UK's debt hotspots
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) and the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have compiled a joint report which reveals the postcodes in the UK where people have the most debt.
Average debt per person was worked out by dividing the total outstanding balances at particular postcodes by the number of adults living there using population figures from the 2011 Census.
Average personal loan debts
Peterborough and Newcastle-upon-Tyne have the highest level of unpaid personal loans per capita in the UK, with an area of central London not far behind.
The figures stack up as below. This table does not take mortgages into account, it reflects levels of unsecured personal loans only.
Position | Town | Postcode sector | Total outstanding balances | Personal loan debt per capita |
1 | Peterborough | PE7 0 | £348,180 | £1,978 |
2 | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | NE13 9 | £1,544,614 | £1,648 |
3 | London | EC1V 2 | £184,328 | £1,523 |
4 | Preston | PR7 7 | £5,785,855 | £1,401 |
5 | Milton Keynes | MK42 6 | £1,334,282 | £1,381 |
6 | Leeds | LS17 0 | £1,849,477 | £1,380 |
7 | London | W1S 1 | £205,818 | £1,363 |
8 | Swindon | SN1 7 | £1,129,812 | £1,351 |
9 | Hull | HU1 3 | £270,281 | £1,325 |
10 | Leeds | LS1 2 | £162,669 | £1,323 |
People living in the PE7 0 postcode sector, which covers the areas of Coates, Hampton, Folksworth, Yaxley and Whittlesey, owe a significant amount more than most.
Mortgage debt figures
Postcode sector SW18 3, which covers parts of South West London has the highest outstanding mortgage level, totalling £667,016,786. At the other end of the spectrum, IV48 8, which is located on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, has the lowest total value of mortgages outstanding at just £622,111 in total.
“As you would expect,” CML Director General Paul Smee observes, "strong levels of mortgage lending are broadly correlated with those areas where there is a strong resident population.”
But the amount lent to South West London is also likely to reflect the soaring house prices in the capital. When ordered by the outstanding value of residential mortgages, the list of postcodes shows that the top 24 entries are all located in London boroughs.
How were these figures calculated?
Not all personal loan lenders were included in that survey so it only accounts for 60% of the unsecured personal loans market, meaning that the figures are representative rather than 100% accurate. However, they do include figures from major high street banks such as Barclays, HSBC, Santander and the RBS Group.
Around three-quarters of the mortgage market is represented in the CML’s report.
