Lloyds TSB Graduate Loan

Good:
Can help you out of a bad financial situation once you have completed your education

Bad:
They will push their Payment Protection Insurance on you, don't feel obliged to take it

Verdict:
Only for Lloyds Graduate Account holders - if you want to apply make sure you are able to get to your local bank as you can't apply online or via phone

With a Lloyds TSB Graduate Loan, you can borrow from £1,000 up to £10,000, which you can pay back over 5 years. In order to apply you do have to have completed your university course and have a Lloyds TSB graduate account as this product is available exclusively to Lloyds customers.

You will need to go into your local branch to apply for this loan or you can begin the application over the phone and complete the final stages in branch. Lloyds TSB aim to get you a final decision on the same day that you apply. They will discuss your current financial situation with you and will work out how much you can actually take out for a loan - bear in mind they may not offer you as much as you need. They will credit check you and fully assess your application. Once it has all been approved, you will need to sign a loan agreement and present any documents they may ask for. The money can be in your account on the same day if all of this is done.

A great option if you are already with Lloyds. However, customer reviews on the internet have suggested that staff can hard sell products like loan insurance. Make sure you don't get talked into taking out offers you don't need. If you are interested in getting insurance, go somewhere else because the banks charge a lot more than some other places. Another selling point, is that Lloyds give you the option to take up to 2 payment holidays per year, which is fantastic for recent graduates as it gives you a bit of freedom on repayments - remember that interest still applies in these 2 months.