Debt and savings underline north-south divide
Liverpudlians, Geordies and Glaswegians are least likely to make any dent in their credit card debts while those who live in Norwich are Britain's best savers.
According to a new report by the data analysts CDMS on attitudes to debt and saving, nearly one in six Liverpudlians never pay off anything other than the interest added to their credit card debt.
The league table of worst repayers - so-called "credit cruisers" - also features Newcastle, Manchester and Glasgow. According to CDMS, those who live in those cities are "endemic accumulators of credit card debt".
The best credit card payers are in Edinburgh, Norwich, Nottingham and London. In Edinburgh only one in 10 credit card users never make repayments of the principal debt. The city of Norwich, meanwhile, has the most assiduous savers, with nearly one in three putting away more than 2% of their income every month. Londoners save only a little less.
The credit cruisers of Glasgow, Liverpool and Newcastle, unsurprisingly, are the worst savers, with as few as one in eight managing to save more than 2% of their income. The population of Cardiff, however, has both savers and debtors - featuring high on the list of credit cruisers and regular savers.
The report, which was based on 56,000 consumer records, shows a "growing polarisation of the national economy".
Ian Hubbard, of CDMS, said there was a "stark contrast between usage of rolling credit card debt in the more northern parts of the UK, compared with the southern swathe".
He added: "These indicators should be grasped by economists and policymakers as a sign that further regeneration efforts are needed away from London's sphere of influence."
Source: guardian.co.uk
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