moneysupermarket.com: Nationwide 7.7% loan rate

Commenting on Nationwide's market leading personal loan rate of 7.7 per cent APR, Tim Moss, head of loans at moneysupermarket.com said: "Nationwide has really bucked the trend in the loans market by offering its existing customers the most competitive personal loan rate available by quite some margin. Loan rates have been going up since the start of the credit crunch - in April 2008 best buy loans were around 7.34 per cent, but have now risen to closer to 9 per cent. This cut by Nationwide is the first suggestion that we may be over the worst in the loan market, let's hope that other providers follow its lead in cutting rates.

"This is an indication of green shoots in the loans market and if others follow suit there will be a big shift in the cost of borrowing for consumers. As unsecured loans are the riskiest of all lending for banks, a movement such as this to gain market share is great news for consumers."