Covid 19 Affecting Personal Finance – I’m sure you are “sick to the back teeth” of hearing or reading about Covid-19, as there seems to be no end to the problems it is causing.
We all thought this year was going to be dominated by Brexit, but how wrong we were!
It looks now like Covid-19 is affecting getting personal finance as well.
Interest Rates & Criteria Rise
Personal loan providers are making drastic changes to their lending criteria compared to what they were at the start of this year. This includes higher rates and a more stringent criteria for any new credit applications.
They have assessed that the lending risk to individuals is much higher now than it has ever been. That is because there is literally no such thing as job security anymore, as the unemployment figures continue to rise sharply.
Even the big name outlets and shops are being affected, with closures every week of companies that have been around for years.
Less Loan Lenders Around
There is also less interest in new loans from consumers too, as again, they do not know if they will be able to keep their job or not and do not want to commit to a long term loan if they are going to lose their job and income during it.
There are also less loan and credit lenders around too and some have stopped lending completely for the foreseeable future.
Sunny Loans was a well know loan lender, but even they have been stricken by the Covid-19 circumstances and they are now in administration.
The Future?
Who knows? Hopefully the vaccine will work and it will get rolled out quickly, but even then, it is going to be months yet before we see any significant changes or improvements.
Look to the government for assistance with schemes like Universal Credit to see if you you apply for assistance. UK Tech News has an article on this subject too.
When you apply for a new loan using this website, your application will automatically go to loan companies that are still lending.
I really hope I am writing a more up-beat article very soon!
Take care.
See also Coronavirus debt.