Personal insolvencies to hit ten year low, predicts Baker Tilly
Insolvency Service figures will show there were just over 21,000 personal insolvencies in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2015, data suggests
PERSONAL INSOLVENCY numbers in the first quarter of 2015 are set to fall to a ten-year low, Baker Tilly has predicted.
Data from the top ten firm’s tracker service – an online early warning system – suggests that the Insolvency Service figures will show there were just over 21,000 personal insolvencies in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2015, their lowest level since 2005.
The forecasted figures suggest just over 4,500 bankruptcies, an increase on quarter four of 2014, and a decrease in both Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) and Debt Relief Orders (DROs).
More responsible lending by creditors has meant that people have smaller personal debts and are less likely to enter official insolvency procedures, said Mark Sands, personal insolvency partner at Baker Tilly.
“Because creditors are showing more forbearance, people are now approaching them directly to arrange repayment plans,” Sands said.
“We are now, however, starting to see a rise in unsecured lending, and if we start to see a rise in interest rates, this could lead to levels of personal insolvency going up in the coming years.”