Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New research by Barrows and Forrester has revealed that the total amount of arrears during the initial wave of the pandemic was dwarfed by arrears during the second wave of the pandemic There are 4.8 million private rented households in England. During wave one of the pandemic restrictions figures from the ONS estimated that 7%…
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Credit Connect’s hosted its third Online Collections Technology Think Tank 2.1 last week which saw the discussions focused upon collections strategy as we prepare to start to feel the impact of the pandemic and Brexit. Fourteen collections professionals from a variety of industry sectors joined the discussion on business transformation, customer engagement, affordability, vulnerability and…
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New research by Hodge Bank has seen Retirement Interest Only (RIO) mortgage applications increase by more than a third. The bank has seen a 36% increase in the number of RIO mortgage applications in 2021, compared with last year. The total value of RIO mortgages with Hodge has also increased by 31%, although the average…
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Private renters and landlords across the country face a cliff edge as the end of furlough coincides with cuts to benefit support. With the Bank of England warnings indicating that renters are more likely than any other group to have lost their jobs or been furloughed, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) argues that many…
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More than half of new mortgage borrowers do not expect to pay off their loans before they turn 65, according to a recent study. Research published by UK Finance said longer mortgage terms coupled with the ageing population was driving a trend towards borrowing later in life. Some 52% of new homeowner mortgage lending in…
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UK Finance and the Building Societies Association are calling for important changes to be made to the Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) scheme to help struggling homeowners as the furlough scheme draws to a close. SMI is a government loan scheme that helps homeowners who are in receipt of benefits1, but as it stands, they…
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Research by the nationwide buy-to-let specialist, Sequre Property Investment, has revealed that the tide of pandemic rental arrears woes that have impacted one in five landlords could be starting to turn, as the majority are now seeing a reduction in the level of late rental income owed to them. The survey of nearly 4,000 UK…
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Debt charity StepChange has warned that a £360 million wall of rent debt built up during the pandemic combined with cuts to Universal Credit threatens to leave hundreds of thousands of tenants facing long-term housing insecurity and problem debt. Since March 2020, StepChange’s research has revealed a tale of two pandemics, with renters one of…
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Latest Bank of England (BOE) figures have indicated that the value of gross mortgage advances in 2021 Q2 was £89 billion, over double the amount seen in 2020 Q2, and the highest level since 2007. The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) was almost 2.5 times greater…
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New research by second charge specialist lender Evolution Money has indicated that the number of prime borrowers completing second-charge mortgages has risen in the company’s latest quarterly data report. Lending data for the last three months, up until the end of August 2021, has indicated that the product split by volume of mortgages is 68%…
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A new Credit & Technology Think Tank has been launched by Credit Connect Media. The event will examine credit and collections technology strategies to increase effectiveness and efficiency as we emerge from the worst impact of the pandemic. The inaugural Credit & Collections Technology Think Tank powered by Credit Connect will take place on Thursday…
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House purchase lending volumes in June reached the highest monthly level on record, with Q2 2021 house purchase the highest quarterly figures in 13 years according to UK Finance’s latest Household Finance Review. The Q2 Review also highlights that credit card spending and personal loan take-up have increased as the hospitality and entertainment industries reopened…
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The Bank of England’s (BOE) latest Monthly Money and Credit data for July showed that individuals paid back £1.4 billion more of mortgage debt than they borrowed in the month. The net repayment followed record borrowing of £17.7 billion in June. The data showed that this was only the second such net repayment in a…
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