If you want an unsecured personal loan you should pop down the shops

When you are looking for an unsecured personal loan it appears that the retail giants of: ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer have it covered. Three of the aforementioned grocers have been consistently at the top of the best buy tables for a very long time.

There are currently about a third less providers of unsecured personal loans than there was 18 months ago. The rates on offer have been constant and their typical APR has not altered despite the reduction in the Bank of England Base Rate (BEBR). Meaning they are making more money on these products than they did when the BEBR was higher.

In the £5,000 0ver 3 Year category, 3 of the top 6 providers are retailers, while in the £10,000 over 5 Year category we find a similar ratio. It might be worth mentioning the banks that are also in the same charts:

• Your Personal Loan (owned by the Co-operative Bank)
• Alliance & Leicester (owned by Santander)
• Smile (owned by the Co-operative Bank)
• The Co-operative Bank (I assume owned by the Co-operative Bank)

The Post Office pops up but we don’t know whether to class them as a retailer or a bank but then again neither do they.

You can have a look at the top 5 loan rates for both £5,000 over 3 Years and £10,000 over 5 Years at www.thebestbestbuys.com