Lloyds’ ‘How Britain Lives’ study analysed the borrowing habits of 2,018 adults and found one in five (22 per cent) people are borrowing money from friends and family just to get by, using the cash to cover day-to-day living costs.

Brits are most likely to borrow money from the Bank of Mum and Dad (25 per cent), borrowing an average of £4,008. Meanwhile one in 20 (5 per cent) have borrowed from siblings, 4 per cent from friends, and 3 per cent from grandparents.

Almost half (46 per cent) of those that borrow money say they feel guilty for doing so, as they hoped to provide for themselves, and nearly one in 10 (8 per cent) admitted that borrowing money has caused tension in their family.

Attitudes to lending

However, six in 10 (61 per cent) Brits say they are happy to lend money to family and friends, with just one in 10 (8 per cent) feeling annoyed about lending to loved ones. Those in the South West (67 per cent), and the South East (66 per cent) appear to be the most generous regions and are happiest to offer a loan in times of need.

Londoners are less likely to hand out the cash than people living elsewhere in the UK, with only half (50 per cent) of Londoners happy to lend money to a family member. Londoners are also twice as likely to be annoyed about being asked for a loan (20 per cent), compared to 8 per cent across the UK. The East Midlands are far more relaxed about lending money, with no respondents saying it left them feeling annoyed.

Stigma attached to talking about cash

The data has been revealed as Lloyds Bank’s M-word campaign aims to tackle the stigma of talking about money.

It found more than two-fifths (44 per cent) of people have avoided discussions about money and a quarter (25 per cent) have lied to family and friends about their personal finances.

Martin King, head of customer support at Lloyds Bank, said: “We feel much more comfortable lending than borrowing in Britain; with half of us feeling guilty when we do have to ask for a bit of extra help. It’s important to keep talking with our family and friends about money concerns, as it can help to have some support and hear another perspective.

“We’ve recently created the Lloyds Bank M-word online hub to provide a series of tips to help people feel more confident in opening up about money worries.”