Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Analysis of credit card data for November 2025 by global analytics software leader FICO has found that spending, balances and payments followed seasonal trends in the run-up to Christmas. However, while spending rose as expected during November, it was lower year-on-year, signalling continued pressure on household finances. Average balances resumed an upward trajectory as payment…
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Latest data from the Bank of England data has shown that net mortgage approvals for house purchase fell by 3,100 to 61,000 in December 2025. By contrast, approvals for remortgaging rose by 1,600 to 38,400 in December. Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals remained unchanged when compared to November at £4.6 billion in December. The…
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Latest Red Flag Alert research from Begbies Traynor has revealed a considerable 43.8% year-on-year increase in ‘critical’ financial distress in Q4 2025. Throughout 2025, UK businesses continued to grapple with a prolonged period of economic uncertainty, rising operating costs driven by inflation and higher wages, increased tax burdens, elevated interest rates, and weakened consumer demand. The persistence…
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The IoD Directors’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, jumped to -48 in January 2026, from -66 in December 2025. Business leader confidence in their own organisations also jumped, to +14 in January from -4 in December. The underlying indicators, particularly revenue and export expectations, also saw…
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Specialist lender, Afin Bank bank has appointed Rebecca Griffin as Chief Risk Officer. Griffin joins from 118 118 Money, where she was Chief Risk Office and brings over 15 years of financial services experience. With a foundation in accountancy at some of the UK’s big four firms, Griffin transitioned into compliance and finance spending almost…
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Business confidence weakened this month over concerns about the global economic outlook, according to the latest Lloyds’ business barometer. The survey reported a net balance of 44% in January, down from 47 per cent in December, driven by a 14-point drop in businesses’ net economic optimism. However, businesses’ expectations for their own activity rose by…
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Santander has announced the appointment of Mahesh Aditya as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Santander UK Group Holdings plc and Santander UK plc, effective from 1st March 2026. Aditya joins from Banco Santander, where he has been Group Chief Risk Officer since 2023 and prior to that spent six years at Santander in the US,…
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Desperate families are finding themselves forced to borrow from illegal loan sharks as a consequence of getting into severe debt due to the high costs of paying for the funerals of loved ones, according to research by Funeralexperts.com. The data revealed that around 32,400 people (3%) of the 1.08 million people who were forced to…
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Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) has announced that it has strengthened its Development Finance team with the appointment of Jake Sweeney as Lending Director, alongside a series of senior promotions as it continues to invest in experienced decision-making across its development finance proposition. Sweeney joined the bank in January 2026, moving from Goldentree Financial Services PLC,…
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The Building Societies Association’s (BSA) latest Property Tracker survey, conducted in January 2026, shows that the barriers preventing would-be homebuyers from achieving their aspiration remain financial – raising a deposit (64%), affording monthly mortgage repayments (50%) and access to a large enough mortgage (45%) – rather than attitudinal. With the main obstacles tightly clustered around…
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The Government has announced that around six million low-income households will continue to receive £150 off their winter energy bills with the Warm Home Discount scheme extended by five more years. The Government’s expansion of the Warm Home Discount last year added 2.7 million families to the scheme, bringing the total number of eligible households…
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New data from Water UK has indicated that water bills in household water bills in England and Wales will rise by an average of 5.4% – around £33 a year, or approximately £2.70 per month – from April, reflecting significant investment in upgrading water infrastructure. The rise is two percentage points above December’s official inflation…
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UK businesses continued to face intense financial pressure throughout 2025, with 28,616 insolvency activities recorded, while start-ups declined, according to a new report from R3. While corporate insolvency-related activities – including administration and voluntary and compulsory liquidations- eased slightly compared with 2024, when there were 29,366 instances, they remain significantly above pre-pandemic norms, reflecting a…
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