Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Fraudulent activity soared during the course of the pandemic with loan fraud up 40% in Q2, according to Experian, with criminals opening bank accounts at five times the rate of the same quarter last year. The research found that the fraud rate for current accounts rose by 13% in Q2* compared to the previous quarter and…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for August 2021 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,742.7 billion at the end of June 2021. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £62,705 and per adult was £32,950, around 109.7% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
Read moreThe Access to Cash Action Group has announced two early steps to support customers who depend on cash: the extension of shared Bank Hub pilots, and the rapid rollout of ‘cashback without purchase’ to thousands of smaller shops. The group (also known as CAG) was formed earlier this year and is chaired by Natalie Ceeney,…
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Almost two-thirds of UK homeowners find the mortgage process intimidating, new research by Twenty7Tec has revealed. The survey of 2,000 UK adults found 40% said deciding which mortgage to get ‘scared them’. Whilst 37% were kept awake by the mortgage process, while one in five admitted to crying because of it. The research also found…
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Digital bank, Revolut is launching a new service called ‘Payday’ that will enable workers to draw out as much as half of their salary weeks before payday, with the bank to work with employers to grant customers access to their cash as they earn it. As part of the initial launch, Revolut is partnering with…
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Latest UK Finance figures show that mortgage arrears remained at record lows in the second quarter of 2021, with 1,370 fewer mortgages in arrears at the end of June compared to the end of March. The number of mortgages in early arrears is below the level seen prior to the pandemic. Total mortgage arrears remain…
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The stamp duty holiday helped drive higher engagement with credit scores, according to Experian. Mortgage applications were 31% higher during the stamp duty holiday than the equivalent period between 2019 and 2020 and those consumers who took out a new mortgage were more likely to check their credit score. Credit score engagement peaked in July…
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Furlough and forbearance measures helped the UK avoid the spike in loan defaults that were expected at the start of the pandemic, but as they are phased out this year, a recent surge in payment holidays for unsecured loans suggests one in ten borrowers are still concerned about maintaining repayments according to new analysis by…
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The average number of tenants in rent arrears is at its lowest level for ten years research by Paragon Bank has found. The Bank has highlighted that in Q2 2021 each landlord surveyed had an average of 1.3 tenants with outstanding rent payments. This is the lowest number since Q1 2011 when research agency BVA…
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The number of borrowers releasing equity from their homes has neared pre-pandemic levels in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest figures from the Equity Release Council (ERC). There were 20,352 new and returning customers in the market between April and June, a rise from 16,527 in Q1 2021 and 13,617 in…
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Latest Bank of England (BOE) data has shown that mortgage borrowing hit a record monthly high in June, climbing to £17.9 billlon. This marks a 163% jump on the £6.8bn recorded in May. The increase came as buyers looked to complete deals before the stamp duty holiday started to taper. While the threshold at which…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for July 2021 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,721.3 billion at the end of May 2021. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £61,933 and per adult was £32,544, around 108.7% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
Read moreNew spending analysis of UK card trends by FICO for May 2021, suggests that some consumers are practising pragmatic financial management, as well as continuing to make use of savings accrued during the pandemic. There are, however, warning signs of the financial pressure growing for those already in debt. Whilst the effects of a full…
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