The North East of England has more personal insolvency and bankruptcy cases than anywhere else in the country, according the new research.

Research by insolvency trade body R3 showed that you are more likely to experience bankruptcy or apply for an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) if you live in the North East, compared to other areas across England and Wales.

New research has revealed that nearly one third of people who have claimed personal insolvency are still being harassed by their creditors.

Research by insolvency trade body R3 showed that 31% of people who were involved in pursuing a personal insolvency solution such as declaring bankruptcy or taking out an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or Debt Relief Order (DRO) were still frequently contacted by representatives of companies or individuals that they had borrowed from.

The record for the number of people declared insolvent has hit a record high, with 33,073 people in England and Wales declaring insolvency in the second quarter of 2009.

The figures, released by the Insolvency Service, are the highest since records began in 1960. The figures include bankruptcies, informal payment plans known as Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) and Debt Relief Orders (DROs).

A former senior director of banking giant HBOS has told how a “supermarket-type” sales culture had led to the near collapse of the bank.

Paul Moore, who was head of regulatory risk at the bank between 2002 and 2004, claimed that there were early concerns as to whether the business was “under control” as a “premier sales and marketing culture” was promoted throughout the company.

Stock markets were sent into free-fall yesterday as the US Congress rejected proposals for a $750bn bailout of the countries collapsed financial system.

The US Governments proposal would have seen the record sum pumped into financial institutions to help keep the US economy afloat after a series of high-profile collapses, including Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and IndyMac.

The defeat of the bill sent stocks plummeting, with the Dow Jones closing 770 points down (6.9%) – a record points drop in a single trading day.