FLA members wrote 44,725 new second charge mortgages worth £2,383m in the 12 months to June 2026, up 18% by number and 27% by value, with loan consolidation at least 60% of new business. Second charges are still a small market, under 4% of regulated mortgage sales according to the FCA. The debt they are used to clear is large and expensive: outstanding consumer credit reached £256.3bn in June 2026, credit card balances £81.6bn, and the Bank of England put the effective rate on interest-charging credit cards at 21.45% in July 2026 against a Bank Rate of 3.75%.
Second charge lending in the UK
The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) publishes monthly new business figures for its second charge mortgage lender members. These are the most widely quoted measure of the UK secured loan market.
£2,383mValue of new second charge lending, 12 months to June 2026Up 27% on the previous 12 months. Widely reported as £2.4bn.Source: FLA press release, 27 August 2026, 27 August 2026 11,489New agreements in Q1 2026 (January to March)Up 22% on Q1 2025. Value of new business £625m, up 33%.Source: FLA press release, 12 May 2026, 12 May 2026 3,245New agreements in May 2026Down 1% on May 2025, the first fall in monthly volumes since April 2025. Value was still up 9% at £175m, and volumes for the first five months of 2026 were up 17%.Source: FLA press release, 17 July 2026, 17 July 2026 What second charges are used for
Debt consolidation is the main reason UK homeowners take a second charge, and it is the use the FCA has looked at most closely.
At least 60%Share of new second charge business used for loan consolidationFiona Hoyle of the FLA said the fact that loan consolidation accounted for at least 60% of new business highlights the role second charge mortgages play in helping consumers refinance existing borrowing without disturbing their primary mortgage.Source: FLA press release, 27 August 2026, 27 August 2026 Household unsecured debt
Bank of England Money and Credit data and The Money Charity's monthly round-up show how much unsecured debt UK households carry and what it costs.
£2.0bnNet consumer credit borrowing, July 2026Up from £1.9bn in June. Credit cards accounted for £0.9bn, other consumer credit such as personal loans and car finance for £1.1bn.Source: Bank of England, Money and Credit, July 2026, 1 September 2026 21.45%Effective interest rate on interest-charging credit cards, July 2026The rate actually paid on balances that bear interest, down slightly from 21.49% in June.Source: Bank of England, Money and Credit, July 2026, 1 September 2026 24.71%Average advertised interest rate on credit card lending, July 2026The Money Charity's quoted-rate measure, 20.96 percentage points above Bank Rate. UK Finance data cited in the same report showed 47.5% of credit card balances bearing interest in May 2026.Source: The Money Charity, The Money Statistics August 2026, August 2026 4.45%Effective rate on newly drawn mortgages, July 2026Up from 4.35% in June. The Money Charity put the average rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages at 3.97% at the end of June 2026.Source: Bank of England, Money and Credit, July 2026, 1 September 2026 Regulation and conduct
Second charge mortgages have been regulated by the FCA under its mortgage rules (MCOB) since 2016, and the regulator published a critical review of the market in March 2026.
12 March 2026FCA publishes findings of its second charge mortgage reviewThe review covered intermediaries representing over 40% of second charge advice market share and around 50% of lenders. It found advice standards for debt consolidation could be improved, affordability assessments could be more robust, record keeping was sometimes incomplete and fees were hard to compare.Source: FCA, Second charge mortgage firms told to raise standards for consumers, 12 March 2026 10% to 12.5%Broker fee charged by the majority of second charge intermediaries, as a share of the loanThe FCA found intermediary fees typically represented 2.5% to 15% of the loan amount, in addition to the lender's fees, and were often only shown at the recommendation stage.Source: FCA, Second charge mortgages: improving outcomes for consumers, 12 March 2026 3.75%Bank of England Bank RateHeld at 3.75% at the decision published on 30 July 2026. The next decision is due on 17 September 2026.Source: Bank of England, Bank Rate, 15 September 2026 Methodology and update cadence
Every figure on this page was taken from a page we fetched on 15 September 2026, and each carries the name, URL and date of that source. FLA figures come from the association's own press releases and cover FLA member lenders only. Bank of England figures come from the Money and Credit statistical release for July 2026, published on 1 September 2026. The Money Charity figures come from its August 2026 edition of The Money Statistics, which itself draws on Bank of England, ONS, UK Finance, StepChange and Insolvency Service data. FCA findings come from the regulator's March 2026 review and press release, and the historic broker fee data from FCA figures obtained by Mortgage Solutions under a Freedom of Information request.
Two credit card rates appear above because they measure different things. The Bank of England's effective rate (21.45%) is the average rate actually paid on balances that bear interest. The Money Charity's figure (24.71%) is the Bank of England's quoted-rate series, which tracks advertised rates. Neither is the rate any one person pays. Where a source rounds a figure (£2.4bn for £2,383m, for example) we show the more precise number and note the rounded one.
We update this page monthly. If a figure cannot be verified on a page we can fetch, we leave it out rather than estimate it. None of these statistics is advice. A secured loan, also called a homeowner loan or second charge mortgage, is secured on your home, and your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments. If you are worried about debt, free and impartial help is available from MoneyHelper, StepChange and Citizens Advice, and speaking to an FCA authorised broker to check your options will not affect your credit score.
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