Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Government has announced that it has launched a comprehensive new funding package for councils to help address coronavirus pressures and cover lost income during the pandemic. The government says that it has delivered an unprecedented package of support to councils over recent months, and councils in England will now receive a further £500 million…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced proposals that would provide continued support for users of motor finance and high-cost credit products, who continue to face payment difficulties due to the pandemic. The proposals outline the options firms will provide motor finance, buy-now pay-later (BNPL), rent-to-own (RTO) and pawnbroking customers who are coming to the…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed that the credit card payments freeze could be extended for another three months for customers still suffering from the economic impact of coronavirus. After imposing a three-month pause on repayments for those struggling amid the fallout of the pandemic on the economy, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has…
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A survey of over 4,000 customers by Virgin Money found one in eight had called on their bank for help in the form of overdrafts and payment holidays on mortgages, personal loans and credit cards, the equivalent of about 8 million people. Virgin Money’s Financial Happiness report found that 1 in 4 (24%) of those…
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The Bank of England’s latest money statistics reports that households repaid more loans from banks than they took out. A £4.6 billion net repayment of consumer credit more than offset a small increase in mortgage borrowing. Approvals for mortgages for house purchases fell further in May to 9,300. The repayments on consumer credit dropped to…
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Households are increasingly struggling to make ends meet as the covid-19 pandemic crisis continues, with research suggesting a worrying increase in family debt. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows that one in seven households are falling behind on repaying their mortgages due to the coronavirus pandemic. The study found that 1.4 million…
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A new business coalition that aims to provide emergency COVID-19 support for the digitally and financially excluded has launched. Good Things Foundation, The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, The APLE Collective, Clean Slate Training & Employment CIC and Mastercard have formed a coalition of partners to offer immediate support to digitally and financially excluded people in the UK,…
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Zopa has announced that it has been granted a banking licence and duly announced it would be launching a new digital bank offering a fixed-term saving account followed by a credit card later in the year. These new products will launch in addition to Zopa’s existing personal loan and car loan products. Zopa Bank will…
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More than 1.9 million mortgage payment deferrals have been offered to customers impacted by Covid-19 in the three months since the support was launched according to new figures from UK Finance which means that one in six mortgages in the UK are now subject to a payment deferral. UK Finance says that this means that…
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Severe economic disruption caused by COVID-19 will see a short-term hit for the UK mortgage market, but payments holidays should keep it afloat and see growth from 2021, according data and analytics company GlobalData. GlobalData’s post-COVID-19 amended forecasts expect a decline of 1.3% in mortgage loans in 2020, down from 2.6% previously. Its overall compound…
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Nationwide Building Society has announced that it will only lend to mortgage borrowers with a deposit of at least a 15%, scrapping its deal for those with 10% of the property’s value amid concerns about falling house prices in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Nationwide, which before the pandemic offered loans where a deposit…
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Firms must do more to ensure they are always giving appropriate advice to equity release consumers, a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) review has found. Demand for later life lending has grown in recent years. With the option of no monthly payments, equity release is an attractive option for some – allowing consumers to benefit from…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Commerzbank AG (London Branch) £37,805,400 for failing to put adequate anti-money laundering (AML) systems and controls in place between October 2012 and September 2017. Commerzbank London was aware of these weaknesses and failed to take reasonable and effective steps to fix them despite the FCA raising specific concerns…
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