M&S Bank offers lowest personal loan rate in six years The next few years saw the lowest rates jump up to nearly 8pc. Four years ago, YourPersonalLoan offered the lowest rate at 7.6pc APR, and was followed for three years in a row by rates from Nationwide. Three years ago, it offered 7.9pc; the following year 7.5pc and last year saw this fall to 6.2pc APR. Rachel Springall, of Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: "It is not the first time M&S Bank has set the trend for rate cuts. In January this year it reduced its rate to 6.0pc APR, sparking a price war which is still continuing ten months on, amongst many lenders. It will not be surprising to see loans of this nature hit the 5pc mark before long. In October, the Daily Telegraph reported that the top 10 average for personal loans over £7,500 had dropped to 5.94pc, which made it the lowest typical rate since February 2006.