Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Access to Cash Review has published its final recommendations calling on the Government, regulators and banks to act now or risk leaving millions behind. The review concludes that digital payments don’t yet work for everyone and around eight million adults (17% of the population) would struggle to cope in a cashless society. The Review’s…
Read more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published near-final rules and guidance that will apply in the event the UK leaves the EU without an implementation period. As most of the changes proposed will be made under powers given to the FCA under the EU (Withdrawal) Act, they are subject to approval by the Treasury. As…
Read more
UK Finance has released its latest Household Finance update for January 2019 The figures indicate that £10.8 billion was spent on credit cards in January 2019, this was 4.4% higher than the same month the previous year. The outstanding level of credit card borrowing also grew by 4.4% in the twelve months to January. Personal…
Read more
Households are facing the prospect of stagnating living standards, while the proportion of children living in poverty risks hitting a record high by the end of the parliament, according to a new report published by the Resolution Foundation. The Living Standards Outlook 2019 report, brings together recent data, the OBR’s economic projections and the impact of…
Read more
Consumers can save more than £2,500 a year by taking control of their finances, new analysis from Experian has revealed. Families are overpaying on their mortgages and energy bills, and those paying interest on their credit cards can cut their costs by switching to a better deal. Experian has launched Money Matters Week to help…
Read more
The Bank of England has today published its latest monthly Money and Credit report showing consumer credit growth slowed to 6.6 percent in the year to December 2018. Outstanding balances for consumer credit stand at £215.6 billion. The Bank of England says that the credit growth slow down reflects the continuation of relatively weak flows…
Read more
Nearly one million (900,000) people who’ve never switched energy supplier could cover the cost of their Christmas borrowing by changing to a better deal. New analysis from Citizens Advice shows that around 3.2 million people in Britain borrowed up to £150 to cover the cost of Christmas in 2018, almost 1 million of whom have…
Read more
New survey findings commissioned from YouGov by StepChange Debt Charity reveal that more than a quarter of us (27%) started the New Year feeling uneasy about our finances. Among people who feel uneasy, two thirds (65%) have felt this way for more than a year. A fifth (22%) have felt uneasy for more than five…
Read more
The Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) has announced a new regulatory framework for the continuous monitoring of the use of an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) by the high-volume IVA providers. The Insolvency Service classifies high-volume as those firms that are responsible for 2% of the total number of IVAs annually. An IVA is one of the…
Read more
Consumers are bracing themselves for a major financial crisis and housing crash this year according to a new poll from Spearvest, a wealth management firm. The study, conducted by independent survey company Censuswide asked 1,000 members of the UK public about their views on the economic outlook for 2019. A total of 44 per cent…
Read more
Data from the latest report from the Bank of England data shows that the annual growth rate of consumer credit slowed in November 2018, but credit card lending was still 7.9% higher than a year earlier, with other consumer credit lending up by 6.6%. Commenting on the latest figures, StepChange Debt Charity CEO Phil Andrew…
Read more
New research released by Nucleus Commercial Finance has revealed that 74% of UK SME leaders are fearful about what 2019 holds. The majority of SME leaders have concerns about the impact one or more external factors will have on their business. Brexit leads the way (27%) and is closely followed by: The sudden loss of…
Read more
Charity, Action for Children has warned that the UK risks ‘Dickensian’ levels of poverty as a new analysis of official government data¹ shows a million children under 10 years old face a desperate Christmas this year. The Charity says that ss other young children spend December writing their Christmas wish-list to Santa, a million under-10s from low-income…
Read more