Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The divide between rich and poor is widening, as many consumers have grown their savings during the COVID-19 pandemic, while others are struggling to make ends meet according to new research by TransUnion. The research reveals the pandemic has given over a third (35%) of UK adults the chance to increase their savings and 16%…
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Credit Connect’s hosted its second Online Collections Technology Think Tank 2.0 last week which saw collections strategies and the impact of the pandemic discussed by fourteen collections professionals from a variety of industry sectors. The themes of business transformation, customer engagement, affordability, and open banking collections were discussed by panellists and Chair Vanessa Northam from StepChange.…
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Over-55s have used housing equity to clear more than £612 million of unsecured debt in 2020, according to new data analysis from Key shows. Credit cards (av. £8,500), overdrafts (av. £2,000) and loan balances (£11,700) were most commonly repaid as people looked to manage their retirement income by reducing outgoings. Around a fifth (18%) of…
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Almost one year on from the UK’s first national lockdown, UK Finance has outlined key statistics on the impact of the banking and finance industry’s support for businesses and customers across the country over the last twelve months. 2.75 million mortgage payment holidays were granted up until the end of 2020, with 1.8 million in…
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Nearly one in five of homeowners (19%) have been unable to remortgage their home since the pandemic started and could now face higher monthly mortgage repayments as a result, according to research by comparethemarket.com. The impact of the pandemic on employment and financial stability has meant that many households have become ineligible for competitive fixed-rate…
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The low levels of disposable income for when Covid restrictions end have been highlighted by AA Financial Services research. The research found took a look at the health of the nation’s finances to see where people’s money goes each month and found that 88% of people’s paychecks are fully committed, leaving only 12% of their…
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A report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and Scottish Friendly suggests that consumers will go on a £50 billion spending spree once restrictions are lifted, spending money saved over the past year. The analysis says households intend to take more holidays and eat out more, with a quarter of the £192…
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UK households have repaid a record £17.6 billion of mortgage debt in just three months, equivalent to £192m a day, as savings made under lockdown helped some existing borrowers to reduce their debt commitments. Analysis of official data by the Equity Release Council, the representative trade body for the equity release sector, shows a surge in…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell in January 2021 by 34% compared with the same month in 2020. The retail store and online credit sector reported new business 1% lower in January than in the same month in 2020. By contrast, credit card and…
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UK Finance has published detailed proposals for a new service company that will support the UK’s world-leading open banking infrastructure. Open Banking (OB) provides a secure way for financial information to be shared across different finance providers. It enables services such as account aggregation, meaning customers who have accounts with a number of banks can…
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The number of households experiencing problem debt could rise to 1.5 million by the middle of the year, the highest level since the period following the global financial crisis and an increase of 370,000–480,000 since the start of the pandemic, according to research published by Pro Bono Economics for Citizens Advice. The report also suggests…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for February 2021 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,696.4 billion at the end of December 2020. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £60,860 and per adult was £32,014, around 107.5% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
Read moreLatest Bank of England data released shows that households paid back £2.4 billion of borrowing on credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts in the first month of 2021. The total amount outstanding on credit cards and loans shrank to £199.4 billion, falling below £200billion for the first time since April 2017. Consumer borrowing fell at…
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