Ofwat to report on how water companies help vulnerable customers

5th October 2017 Consumer Collections |

Ofwat has announced that it is going to report on how each water company serves, supports and protects customers in vulnerable circumstances. The report will show clearly those companies that are leading the field and those that are letting their customers down. Ofwat has been calling on water companies to step up their efforts to…

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Ascent Performance wins two awards

5th October 2017 Consumer Collections |

Ascent Performance has announced their success in winning Compliance and Best Customer Outcomes Awards at a Credit industry Awards. Mark Higgins, Chairman of Ascent, collected the award and said “This award recognises the hard work that all our colleagues in Ascent have put into ensuring we offer the best customer experience – and deliver the…

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PCP: Are We Heading for a Major Crash?

5th October 2017 Industry opinion |

Opinion and forecasts for the PCP market are proliferating at the moment as we hear from MP’s, consumer groups and the like, about the potential impact that the ‘debt crisis’ could have on the PCP market – especially as affordability criteria is tightened and interest rates are set to rise. Reports in the press are…

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How lenders can win the data management game

5th October 2017 Industry opinion |

The financial services industry today faces numerous data management challenges to become both customer-centric and meet regulatory requirements. However, many lenders continue to face the challenge of aggregating, managing and creating value from their data.Data underpinning credit risk is one of the most important assets of financial services organisations. The efficiency of storage, ease of…

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Morses Club results show 14% increase in revenue

5th October 2017 Consumer Collections |

Home collected credit specialist, Morses Club has announced its interim results for the twenty-six-week period ended 26 August 2017. Highlights from the results include: ·     Strong first half performance with revenue up 14.8% to £54.2m (H1 FY17: £47.2m) ·     Net loan book growth of 16.0% to £65.2m (H1 FY17: £56.2m) ·     Impairment as a percentage of revenue for the period was 26.6% (H1 FY17:…

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Intrum acquires Greek NPL portfolio

5th October 2017 Consumer Collections |

Intrum has entered into an agreement to acquire a non-performing loan portfolio from Eurobank, one of the four Greek banks considered as critical for the stability of the Greek economy, for a total investment of approximately SEK 0.4 bn. The portfolio consists of well diversified unsecured consumer loans. Servicing of the portfolio will be outsourced…

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Prime Minister reinforces energy price cap plans

5th October 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Prime Minister’s has announced plans for a cap on energy bills at the Conservative Party Conference. Citizens Advice has welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement of legislation to tackle high energy bills, saying it could provide a solution to runaway energy costs. The national charity has also called for the government to look at protecting low-income…

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Payment system operator appoints Board

5th October 2017 Consumer Collections |

The UK’s new payment system operator has announced the appointment of its first five Board members: Anna Bradley – Chair, Rail Safety and Standards Board Becky Clements – Head of Industry Engagement and Payment Change at Metro Bank Russell Saunders – Managing Director Global Payments at Lloyds Banking Group Peter Wyman – Chairman, Care Quality Commission…

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Bank of Mum & Dad borrowing creates family guilt

5th October 2017 Consumer Collections |

The concept of the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ is growing in importance but more than half of potential first-time buyers expecting to receive financial help from family to complete their purchase would feel guilty about doing so, new research reveals. The latest First-Time Buyers Report by Yorkshire Building Society shows 66% of UK adults aged 18-40…

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Newcastle Council signs up to Collections Protocol

5th October 2017 Consumer Collections |

Newcastle City Council has signed up to the Citizen’s Advice Council Tax Protocol to show it will collect debt in a ‘fair and reasonable’ manner and offering support and advice to residents. The council’s cabinet member for resources, Councilor Veronica Dunn, said: ‘We have a duty to collect the tax but where people are in…

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ECB plans to force banks to raise bad debt provisions

5th October 2017 Consumer Collections |

The European Central Bank (ECB) plans to ask euro area banks to set aside more cash to cover bad loans, making it prohibitively expensive for lenders to keep sitting on them, a draft proposal seen by Reuters showed on Tuesday. Soured loans are clogging up bank balance sheets and holding back lending – a headache…

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Metro Bank appoints Commercial Business Director

5th October 2017 Commercial Credit Management |

Metro Bank has announced the appointment of Roger Fenwick as Director of Specialist Sectors for its commercial business, responsible for the expansion and development of the bank’s dedicated sector teams. Reporting directly to Mark Stokes, Managing Director Commercial Banking, Fenwick will oversee the bank’s healthcare, hospitality and leisure, insurance and financial services, and property teams.…

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Shire Leasing wins Hybrid Funder award

5th October 2017 Commercial Credit Management |

Shire Leasing has announced it has Top Hybrid Funder of the Year at the 2017 Leasing World Awards. The award recognises Shire Leasing as the leading company that has most successfully increased their Own Book funding portfolio and has now surpassed the 50% barrier of own-book to brokered deals, a great achievement for a truly…

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