Three in Four Americans Lend to Friends as Personal Loan Rates Reach 36%

2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 23

75% of people in a 2025 LendingTree survey said they had lent money to a friend, signaling growing reliance on personal networks for cash.
Personal loan rates averaging 12.27% and reaching as high as 36%, along with high living costs, are pushing borrowers away from traditional lenders.
Men, millennials and parents of young children were the groups most likely to make loans to friends.
The survey found lenders were more likely to say the loans helped their friendships than harmed them, challenging assumptions that mixing money and friendship usually backfires.

As Americans skip banks for friendly loans, is our financial system failing them?

Will these interest-free friend loans create a new debt crisis outside the system?

When friends become your primary bankers, does trust guarantee your money back?