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Government warns about rising credit card debt Debt - the 12-month view Amount of `bad debt` written off reaches 16-year high Deeper into debt: middle-class poverty Debt taken on by individuals increased in January Debt Relief Order (DRO) rules may be changed Overdrafts: five million Britons `permanently` in debt Mortgage lending drops to decade low The cost of debt falls Two thirds hope to have cleared mortgage debt by 50 40% of people approaching retirement `saddled with debt` Repossession `may be best` for homeowners struggling with debt Bankruptcies in Scotland - the worst may be yet to come Good news for people with energy debts US: new law provides debt-free date More debt taken on than repaid in December Savings rise as consumers pay down debt Household debt `could trigger another downturn` More families could fall into debt with energy companies Recession ends

Banks: bad debts `have peaked`

12/11/2009

Barclays and HSBC have both asserted that the rise in bad debts (debts which won`t be repaid) has already peaked, despite widespread worries about people`s ability to repay their debts - and the effect this could have on the entire banking system.

As the Telegraph reports, HSBC`s chief executive Michael Geoghegan said, "I believe that the biggest jolt has now passed through the global economy."

However, he also said that "it is too early to claim victory, especially while unemployment is still rising in the West."

Barclays, meanwhile, reported that bad debts `would be at the bottom end of earlier forecasts of £9bn-£9.6bn` this year.

Over the past nine months, bad debts had risen steeply at Barclays, rising by 65% to £6.2bn, but things have been looking more positive recently, and Barclays believes that the worst may actually be over.

This optimistic news from two of Britain`s biggest banks (one of which - HSBC - is the UK`s biggest lender) does contrast with the findings of PricewaterhouseCoopers` recently released `Precious Plastic 2010` report, which claims that the already `historically high` levels of bad debt on credit cards are set to rise even further, and are expected to equal 9% of outstanding credit card debt in 2010.

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Government warns about rising credit card debt 05/03/2010 - The latest figures from the Bank of England (BoE) have Debt - the 12-month view 04/03/2010 - In January, UK citizens - between them - borrowed £500 Amount of `bad debt` written off reaches 16-year high 03/03/2010 - The latest figures from the Bank of England (BoE) suggest Deeper into debt: middle-class poverty 02/03/2010 - The recession has also affected a lot of people with