‘Bank of mum and dad’ stoking Britain’s rising inequality, warns report

Billions in gifts or loans given when children are in early adulthood and buying first home or getting married

Billions of pounds loaned by the bank of mum and dad" to help with property purchases and to boost the finances of newly married offspring are helping to fuel rising levels of inequality, according to a thinktank.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said parents would provide 17bn in gifts and informal loans this year. Most transfers come from the over-50s to children in their late 20s and early 30s.