Insolvency Service Personal Insolvency - Statistics Insight

Sept. 17, 2011 - PRLog -- The number of people becoming personally insolvent in England and Wales has risen
for the first time in a year, according to figures released by the Insolvency
Service. After four consecutive quarters of falling personal insolvency levels, this
increase reflects the fragility of the economic recovery.

Although these numbers are up on last quarter, this total is actually 12 per cent
less than the same point last year, and represents the fourth consecutive quarter of
year on year falls.

RSM Tenon now predicts that the number of personal insolvencies this calendar year
will be in the region of 120,000 - the lowest tally since 2008.

“Despite the recent negative or stagnant growth in the economy, the fact that
unemployment figures remain hundreds of thousands higher than before the recession,
and the fact that government spending cuts are starting to bite, the number of
people hitting the financial rocks has only now shown signs of the strains of the
public sector cuts combined with increased costs of living and falling real
incomes,” said Nigel Fox, Director of Personal Insolvency at RSM Tenon.

“It’s very likely that much of this is to do with the low interest rates, which have
now been kept close to zero for a staggering 28 months, and look set to stay low in
the near future. This particularly benefits homeowners: huge numbers of people the
current economic climate would have left struggling to make their mortgage payments
are saved from going under.

“It’s worth pointing out though, that people in rented properties seldom see the
direct benefit of low interest rates, and neither do people with unsecured debts as
interest rates on credit cards and bank loans have not followed the trend of the
base rate. So the picture is complicated, and there are more factors influencing the
current low number of personal insolvencies than the actions of the MPC.”

http://www.griffinandking.co.uk/

Article sourced from:
RSM Tenon

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Griffin and King are a leading firm of Insolvency Practitioners within the West Midlands with offices covering Dorset, Hampshire, Shropshire and Mid Wales