Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Profits at Virgin Money more than halved in the first half of its financial year, with impairment charges in the six months to March tripling to £232 million, from £77 million a year earlier. The firm’s underlying pre-tax profit was down from £280 million to £120 million, with statutory net profit of £22 million higher…
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Families are coming to terms with the fact that their finances could be negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic long after the lockdown lifts. According to the second week of comparethemarket.com’s Financial Confidence Tracker, over two thirds (67%) of households with children at home think the economic impact of the pandemic will have a long-term…
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Consumers are spending more than £65 million per month on energy while working from home, according to new research by energy provider Utilita. The survey of 2,000 UK adults revealed 40 per cent have transformed their home into a makeshift office during lockdown with a total of around 12.5 million now working from home (WFH).…
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The Bank of England had published its latest banking statistics which have indicated that mortgage approvals for house purchase fell to 56,200, their lowest level since March 2013. House purchase decreased by 24 per cent from almost 74,000 in February, hitting their lowest level for seven years. The Bank of England data shows that while…
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Nearly a fifth of households are struggling to pay their bills because of the government lockdown imposed due to COVID19. According to comparethemarket.com’s new Financial Confidence Tracker, 20% of households are not confident that they will be able to meet due payments or stay on top of household finances over the coming weeks. Amongst those…
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New research from Citizens Advice has revealed that over 13 million people have already been unable to pay, or expect to be unable to pay, at least one bill because of the coronavirus outbreak. Of these, almost 11 million have missed or expect to miss a bill that would leave them vulnerable to severe consequences…
Read moreThe Insolvency Service has published the latest personal insolvency figure for England & Wales which indicates that the total numbers of insolvencies in Q1 2020 decreased when compared with the previous quarter and the same quarter in the previous year (Q1 2019). The figures largely pre-date the Government lockdown and wider impact of the Coronavirus…
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The latest figures from the Insolvency Service have shown that total insolvencies increased in Northern Ireland in Q1 2020. There were 621 individual insolvencies in Northern Ireland in Q1 2020. This was an increase of 7.4% compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In Q1 2020 there were 621 insolvencies, up 7.4% on…
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Barclays has issued a warning about the cost of the pandemic in its latest financial results, which saw that pre-tax profits fell to £913 million amid Covid-19 crisis. The company says it could be forced to take a £4.5 billion charge to cover bad debts in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The…
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New research has highlighted the precarious lives of those on chronic low incomes with predictions showing further hardship from the coronavirus pandemic. Debt charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) new report ‘Is Anyone Listening?’ reflects on the statistics for 2019 showing that many walk a financial knife-edge with no safety net from income shocks or unexpected…
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The UK’s largest debt advice charities have welcomed emergency legislation banning bailiffs from visiting homes to enforce debts during Covid-19 restrictions – but say the Government ‘must go further’ in helping people struggling with council tax bills as a result of the outbreak. Citizens Advice, Money Advice Trust and StepChange Debt Charity raised concerns with…
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A new report from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) makes a “powerful case” for the need for a Government Debt Management Bill, according to the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline. The CSJ’s newly-published report, ‘Collecting dust: A path forward for government debt collection’ outlines how central and…
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The number of judgments against Northern Ireland consumers increased by 4.6 percent in Q1 (January-March) 2020 compared to the same period last year, from 1,411 to 1,476, according to figures released today by Registry Trust. But the amount owed in judgment debt by Northern Irish consumers fell from just under £5 million to £3.2 million,…
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