Government launches My Home Finance scheme

Commenting on the launch of the Government's ‘My Home Finance' scheme, Joanna Elson OBE, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, said:  "We welcome this addition to the consumer credit market. Any initiative aimed at widening the range of options for people whose options for credit are so limited should be commended, and we applaud the National Housing Federation for taking this important step.

"Providing credit to those who are assessed as ‘high risk', however, is expensive, and the proposed rate of interest as of April next year of 49.9 per cent APR  is far higher than the unsecured loan rates we are used to seeing in the branch windows of our high street banks. Consumers considering applying for a loan through the scheme therefore need to be absolutely sure they can afford the repayments."