Personal Loan Rate Cut By Nationwide Building Society

The personal loan rate has been cut by Nationwide Building Society by 0.10%, giving the lowest rate the Society has offered since 2006. 

Nationwide FlexAccount customers who use it as their main current account could benefit from a competitive rate of 6.5% APR Representative.

The new interest rate applies to loans of up to 5 years between £7,500 and £14,999taken out through a branch, over the telephone or via the Internet.

Those without a Nationwide’s FlexAccount can take advantage of a competitive rate of 6.6% APR Representative that’s available if customers apply through an online aggregator, such as moneysupermarket.com. Loans can be for up to 5 years and for between £7,500 and £14,999.

If you’re looking for a personal loan though you do need to be aware of the potential impact on your credit rating, as Richard Napier, Nationwide’s head of banking, comments:  “Shopping around for the best personal loan rate is not always as straightforward as shopping around for the best savings rate.

“This is because gathering multiple personal loan quotes with different providers in a short space of time can leave a mark on consumers’ credit history and hinder their chance of being accepted for credit.

“Soft quotes are one way around this and Nationwide is leading the way with its own flexible loan search facility.  This gives consumers the chance to quickly search for a competitive loan deal with Nationwide without impacting their credit score, which is especially convenient for those searching online.”

Nationwide is the only high street lender to offer a ‘soft quote facility’, enabling you to know what APR you would be eligible for without impacting your credit file.

If you accept your quote, a record of the check will be left on your credit file so that other lenders can see.

MoneyHighStreet comments: “If you need to borrow money, think carefully about how much you need to borrow and how long you need to have the money for.

If for example you need a short term loan to get you out of a short term cashflow problem, the solution you opt for is likely to be very different if you need to borrow to buy a car for example.

If you need a larger amount of money, for a longer period, perhaps for a home extension, looking at a secured loan, or second mortgage may be a better option.

Above all, make sure you know how you are going to pay the loan off – falling into debt that gets out of control is not a route to go down.