Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
While some indicators have shown small positive signs of improvement, these are not yet at the point where they can decrease the financial pressures on many UK households. Increasing wages and falling inflation bring some welcome indications of improvement for the UK’s economic outlook this month, but neither are yet significant, or long-lasting, enough to…
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Lenders are waking up to the fact that Consumer Duty is not going to be a ‘one and done’ project. Unlike other aspects of financial regulation that they have had to adopt in the past, complying with the FCA’s latest regulatory advancement looks set to be a year-round challenge. The reason for this is that…
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As we approach the 2024 general election, both sides of the political divide clearly want to stake their claim to be the party of law and order. However, when we look at the political narratives around crime, it is clear that politicians (and indeed the public) view ‘crime’ primarily through a very limited lens of…
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In spite of a minor decrease in the last month of £62 in the total average amount of debt held by UK adults, average personal debt remains almost exactly equal to one year’s average earnings at 99.9%. In the year to December 2023, outstanding credit card debt increased by 9.2% (£5.8 billion), with the average interest rate on credit card…
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The new Consumer Duty rules for retail financial services, which came into force in July 2023, marked a considerable shift in the regulatory expectations on firms for consumer protection. As noted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who will supervise firms for compliance, the Consumer Duty “sets higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across…
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UK household spending on energy and fuel is falling but these reductions seem driven by people looking to cut down their expenditure against a steadily growing backdrop of debt. Energy and fuel spending are down for the average UK household, but while some of this is due to falling prices, the majority of the change…
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The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is currently consulting on its plans and budget for the new financial year. Though this happens every year, the proposals included this time could make a big difference to the alternative lending market in the future. The consultation includes plans to reduce the fees and levies paid by firms and…
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Businesses have faced a series of financial challenges and generational disruption crammed into the space of a few years: the pandemic; the impact of Brexit on supply chains and market access; and the toughest squeeze on living standards and consumer spending power since the 1970s. Corporate insolvencies are already at their highest levels since the…
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In the months and weeks leading up to the end of 2023, the UK’s financial numbers give an overview of the difficult landscape being faced and the effects this may have on many people’s Christmas spending plans. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s November 2023 forecast, household debt of all types is forecast to…
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There are times when it feels like fate is finally stepping in to lend a hand, and the release of the Ministry of Justice consultation on the benefits of adding claimant data to the public Register, swiftly followed by the FCA’s publication of their Credit Information Market Improvements definitely feels like one of those times.…
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Hard-pressed households have had little to be encouraged by financially during 2023, but the end of the year has brought some more hopeful indications for the coming months. In the year to October 2023, the CPI (Consumer Prices Index) increased by 4.6%, down from 6.7% as September, meaning the government have achieved their target of bringing inflation…
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It feels like we have all been waiting and predicting a rise in arrears levels over the last five years. In some ways, it is our job to explain how the ‘sky is falling in’ so we can at least try to do something about it before it does. We often come across being seen…
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UK families are bearing some of the heaviest brunt of the ongoing cost of living crisis, with many resorting to drastic measures. Households with children in the UK are reporting that they are being more heavily impacted by the rising cost of living. In London, 25% of working parents say they’ve had to skip meals, or not…
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