Savings to ‘soar’ as Brits get to grips with debt

Data from HBOS suggests that consumer savings are set to top the £1 trillion barrier for the first time this year.

This figure matches that of the collective total for household debt, with researchers from HBOS suggesting that Britons are becoming increasingly cautious about taking on more borrowings.

Martin Ellis, chief economist at HBOS, commented: “Households are rediscovering the savings habit.

“We’ve seen sizeable increases in previous years, but more caution in terms of borrowing has led to households saving more. We are also seeing a period where consumer spending is softer.”

However, with consumer debt at £1 trillion and research from the Debt Counsellors stating that the figure is rising by £1 million every four minutes, it seems that Britons still have some way to go in tackling their repayments.

This could especially be the case if the Bank of England raises its interest rates to 5.25 per cent in February, as widely expected by analysts.