Northern Rock has quickly become one of the best known names in personal finance, offering a fairly comprehensive range of lending and savings products. They’re renowned for their generally extremely competitive lending rates (including unsecured personal loans at the low fixed APR of 12.90%), which have allowed them to quickly become one of the largest personal lenders in the UK, despite a limited High Street presence. In fact, Newcastle based Northern Rock are now the UK’s 8th largest bank by market capitalization. To check how Northern Rock compares to the rest of the UK market choose the “Compare” option on this page.A Northern Rock loan lets you borrow from as little as £500 up to a maximum of £25,000. If you want to borrow more (or less) than this you’ll need to choose the “Compare” channel on this page.It’s worth baring in mind that unlike many of their competitors Northern Rock currently don’t charge early repayment penalties (most UK banks charge 1-3 months interest in penalties for early repayment of a loan).You can apply for a Northern Rock personal unsecured loan online, in most cases receiving an instant decision. Whilst the credit acceptance criteria isn’t as tight as some, our data still shows that over 85% of online applications to Northern Rock are rejected*, so you may want to make other applications (use our “Compare” channel to find other suitable lenders and apply online). Online applications for Northern Rock currently attract an additional 5% discount on payment protection plans versus applications over the phone or in branch so you’re definitely better off applying directly here or through the “compare” channel on this page. You can use a Northern Rock loan for anything including consolidating existing debts, home improvements or a new car. Homeowners and tenants can apply but you need a very good credit history to qualify. Northern Rock don't have any early repayment charges, so you can pay off your loan whenever you want at no extra cost.*Source: LoanExpert data, April-July 2006