CHESTER, England, July 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

• Average top five personal loan rates for £7,500 stands at 6 per cent
• Sainsbury's Finance and Derbyshire Building Society have both lowered their rates

Providers including Sainsbury's Finance and Derbyshire Building Society have announced changes to rates on personal loans meaning the average rate for the top five personal loans at £7,500 now stands at 6 per cent. Today, Sainsbury's Finance reduced its rate for customers taking a loan of £7,500 over less than three years to a market leading 5.8 per cent; the lowest personal rate since November 2006, according to MoneySupermarket.com. 

For anyone borrowing over a longer period than three years, the Sainsbury's Finance Personal Loan offers a rate of 5.9 per cent, matching the rate from Derbyshire Building Society. The rate on offer from Sainsbury's is only available for Nectar card holders.

Analysis by Britain's number one comparison site has found the average top 5 loan rate for borrowing £7,500 in December 2008 was 8.10 per cent costing £9,085 over the five years. In comparison, the average loan rate is now at 6.00 per cent with the loan costing £8,667- an overall saving of £418.

Tim Moss, head of loans and debt at MoneySupermarket.com, said: "The launch of the lowest personal loan rate since 2006 is great news for anyone who is looking to borrow and indicates that banks are finding an appetite for new business. With heavy competition in the savings market and margins on credit cards and mortgages tight, it appears that some banks may be refocusing their efforts on the loans market. The move by Derbyshire Building Society and Sainsbury's Finance may lead to other lenders following their lead, which will help bring down the cost of borrowing for consumers."

"Whilst, the decision to borrow should never be taken lightly; consumers needing an injection of credit should keep an eye on rates, particularly at the moment.  As well as the amount you are looking to borrow, the other key thing that affects the cost of a loan is your credit score. These low rates are only available to those with excellent credit histories. Those without excellent credit histories continue to be charged significantly higher rates of interest."

Notes to editors:

    Loans - GBP7,500 over 5 Years
             Provider                   Typical APR
    Derbyshire BS                          5.9%
    Sainsbury's Bank                       5.9%
    Tesco Loan                             6.0%
    Clydesdale Bank                        6.0%
    Marks & Spencer                        6.0%

    Sourced by http://www.moneysupermarket.com 02.07.2012

    Loans - GBP7,500 over 3 Years
             Provider                   Typical APR
    Sainsbury's Bank                       5.8%
    Derbyshire BS                          5.9%
    Tesco Loan                             6.0%
    Clydesdale Bank                        6.0%
    Marks & Spencer                        6.0%

    Sourced by http://www.moneysupermarket.com 02.07.2012

MoneySupermarket.com's customer commitment

• No other site compares more prices or products
• We are independent so only find the best deals for you   
• The price you see is the price you pay - you don't need to go direct and you won't get a better deal doing so   
• Your details are safe with us and we won't sell them to anybody

MoneySupermarket.com compares (at 29^th March 2012)

• 98 car insurance providers and 81home insurance providers
• 11 broadband providers and 18 energy providers   
• 31 unsecured loan and 5 secured loan providers
• 62 mortgage lenders and 28 credit card providers
• 67 savings providers and 37 current account providers.
• Over 1,750,000 mobile phone deals

We promise to be clear and impartial

• All the products in our full search results tables are displayed in a completely unbiased manner.
• We don't add fees or commissions on to the prices we compare.
• There may be times when another site compares more companies than us on a particular product, perhaps because of market changes or technical issues. You'll be able to see this and know we are working hard to fix it.

We promise to be trustworthy

• We never use your data to make unwanted sales calls or send you spam.
• We never pass your personal information to third parties unless you give us permission to do so.
• Even if you choose to receive additional information from us, you can opt out at any time. 
• We promise to be supportive.
• You can use our community forum to get information and help from other customers.

If you need further help or support, you can contact our sales advisors or customer services agents.

For further information please contact:

Paul Lawler
PR Manager Financial Services
+44(0)1244-370317
+44(0)787-237-9545
paul.lawler@moneysupermarket.com

SOURCE moneysupermarket.com