Student loan

Student loans are issued by the Student Loans Company to full-time students to help with cost of living away from home whilst studying. The interest on student loans is linked to inflation, so they are cheaper than other types of loans and you don’t have to start repaying them until after you graduate, get a job and attain a salary above a certain level.

Interest rates are currently at 1.5 per cent and have been since September 2010. They are easily the cheapest long-term debt you will ever be able to get your hands on. The Student Loans Company provides two types of loan. Firstly to cover tuition fees and secondly to cover maintenance costs.

You can currently borrow up to £6,900 depending on your circumstances and you don’t have to repay until you are earning more than £15,000. The rules and levels of borrowing allowed for student loans may change as the coalition government is introducing tuition fees to be charged by universities and payable by students from the beginning of the 2012 academic year.

	Government sells 1990-1998 student loans for £160m The government has sold off £900 million in student loans that were taken out by 250,000 students between 1990 and 1998
	Derbyshire BS cuts personal loan rate to 5.1 per cent The Derbyshire Building Society has cut the rate on its personal loans between £7,500 and £10,000 to just 5.1 per cent taking it back to the top of the best-buy tables along with the Clydesdale.
	Clydesdale Bank cuts loan rates to leap to top of best-buys The Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank has cut the rate on personal loans between £7,500 and £15,000 to 5.1 per cent beating the Tesco Bank deal to go to the top of the best-buys.
	Derbyshire BS cuts personal loan rate to 5.4 per cent The Derbyshire Building Society has cut the rate on its personal loan between £7,500 and £14,999 to 5.4 per cent matching the deal from Sainsbury’s Bank.
	M&S unveils best-buy personal loan rate at 5.5% Marks & Spencer has launched a new personal loan for applicants who want to borrow between £7,500 and £15,000 over a 1-5 year period at just 5.5 per cent.