‘Take out cheap loans before they disappear’

According to the website, the number of lenders offering personal loans with interest rates of six per cent or less has halved over the past year, while the average rate across the whole loans industry has risen to 10.98 per cent.

This is a result of the Bank of England’s (BoE) decision to raise the cost of borrowing three times since August, uSwitch said.

Personal finance director Nick White told Reuters: “The start to 2007 has been fairly quiet with regards to product announcements compared to previous years.

“However, it has seen a change from the norm as the traditional battle for the top slot amongst loan providers hasn’t taken place; instead we have seen more of them drop out of the sub-six per cent market.”

Mr White’s comments follow a statement from Moneyextra urging borrowers to act now “to lock in an attractive interest rate” before the BoE raises the cost of borrowing again.