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More personal loan providers back out of the market

Competitive personal loan rates can still be found, especially if you are borrowing larger sums of money. But as rates continue to rise and lenders begin to withdraw from the personal loans market, it could look a very different picture in a few months' time.

Leeds Building Society withdrew at the end of last week, with very competitive PPI charges and low rates on small personal loans, it left a hole at the top of some of the personal loan best buys. And this week GE Money followed suit, withdrawing its competitive rate of 6.9% on personal loans between £7.5K and £25K.

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Rates for personal loans have been rising gradually for some months, with competition putting increased pressures on margins and bad debts on the increase. But the credit crunch seems to be the final nail in the coffin, as personal loan lenders continue to raise rates on personal loans but more surprisingly withdraw their personal loan products all together.

Anyone looking for a personal loan would be advised to act sooner rather than later as there seems to be no let up in interest rate rises. If PPI is reformed, which it's very much in need of, the landscape of competitive personal loan rates could become a thing of the past.

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