Borrowing Data

Credit holding statistics in the North East 2026

Last updated November 2026 · Data to 2024 · North East

Credit holding figures for the North East, from the Financial Conduct Authority.

81%

Adults holding any credit

In 2024, 81 per cent of adults in the North East held at least one credit or loan product (now or in the previous 12 months).

Source: Financial Lives 2024 survey: Annex A (Product holdings), Financial Conduct Authority, 2024

Survey estimate, base all UK adults; fieldwork 5 February to 16 June 2024; Includes regulated and unregulated credit; unweighted base 1026

60%

Adults holding a credit card

In 2024, 60 per cent of adults in the North East held a credit card (now or in the previous 12 months).

Source: Financial Lives 2024 survey: Annex A (Product holdings), Financial Conduct Authority, 2024

Survey estimate, base all UK adults; fieldwork 5 February to 16 June 2024; unweighted base 1026

20%

Adults overdrawn

In 2024, 20 per cent of adults in the North East were overdrawn on a current account (now or in the previous 12 months).

Source: Financial Lives 2024 survey: Annex A (Product holdings), Financial Conduct Authority, 2024

Survey estimate, base all UK adults; fieldwork 5 February to 16 June 2024; unweighted base 1026

26%

Adults with a residential mortgage

In 2024, 26 per cent of adults in the North East had a residential mortgage on the property they lived in.

Source: Financial Lives 2024 survey: Annex A (Product holdings), Financial Conduct Authority, 2024

Survey estimate, base all UK adults; fieldwork 5 February to 16 June 2024; unweighted base 1026

25%

Deferred payment credit use

In 2024, 25 per cent of adults in the North East used deferred payment credit (unregulated buy now, pay later) in the previous 12 months.

Source: Financial Lives 2024 survey: Annex A (Product holdings), Financial Conduct Authority, 2024

Survey estimate, base all UK adults; fieldwork 5 February to 16 June 2024; Deferred payment credit is the survey term for unregulated buy now, pay later; not measured in 2017 or 2020; unweighted base 1026

6.5%

Adults with high-cost credit

In 2024, 6.5 per cent of adults in the North East held high-cost credit (now or in the previous 12 months).

Source: Financial Lives 2024 survey: Annex A (Product holdings), Financial Conduct Authority, 2024

Survey estimate, base all UK adults; fieldwork 5 February to 16 June 2024; Home-collected, logbook, pawnbroking, payday, rent-to-own, short-term instalment and guarantor loans; 2024 definition applied to earlier waves (Annex A footnote 7); unweighted base 1026

29%

Low financial resilience

In 2024, 29 per cent of adults in the North East had low financial resilience.

Source: Financial Lives 2024 survey: Vulnerability & financial resilience, slide-based report, Financial Conduct Authority, 2024

Survey estimate, base all UK adults, rounded to whole per cent by the publisher; fieldwork 5 February to 16 June 2024; Low financial resilience: in financial difficulty, heavily burdened by bills or credit commitments, or low savings; the underlying chart-data workbook shows 0.28 for this cell while the slide label and the main report both show 29 per cent

11%

Adults in financial difficulty

In 2024, 11 per cent of adults in the North East were in financial difficulty, having missed domestic bills or credit commitments in three or more of the previous six months.

Source: Financial Lives 2024 survey: Vulnerability & financial resilience, underlying data for charts, Financial Conduct Authority, 2024

Survey estimate, base all UK adults, rounded to whole per cent by the publisher; fieldwork 5 February to 16 June 2024

10%

Mortgage debt four times income

In 2024, 10 per cent of adults in the North East with a residential or lifetime mortgage had mortgage debt of at least four times their annual household income.

Source: Financial Lives 2024 survey: Mortgages (slide-based report), Financial Conduct Authority, 2024

Survey estimate, base UK adults with a residential or lifetime mortgage, excluding don't know and prefer not to say; fieldwork 5 February to 16 June 2024

Key points

In 2024, 81 per cent of adults in the North East held at least one credit or loan product (now or in the previous 12 months). In 2024, 60 per cent of adults in the North East held a credit card (now or in the previous 12 months). In 2024, 20 per cent of adults in the North East were overdrawn on a current account (now or in the previous 12 months).

Frequently asked questions

What share of adults in the North East held a credit or loan product in 2024?

In 2024, 81 per cent of adults in the North East held at least one credit or loan product (now or in the previous 12 months).

What share of adults in the North East held a credit card in 2024?

In 2024, 60 per cent of adults in the North East held a credit card (now or in the previous 12 months).

What share of adults in the North East were overdrawn on a current account in 2024?

In 2024, 20 per cent of adults in the North East were overdrawn on a current account (now or in the previous 12 months).