Intrum Justitia and Lindorff to merge

14th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

Intrum Justitia and Lindorff have announced plans to create Europe’s leading debt collection credit management service. The two companies have a local presence in 23 markets across Europe and a team of more than 8,000 employees. By joining forces, both local and global clients will benefit from a strong pan-European platform, enhanced service offering, innovative…

Read more

StepChange confirms FCA authorisation

14th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

The Foundation for Credit Counselling, trading as StepChange Debt Charity and StepChange Debt Charity Scotland, has received authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Following news of the approval of the charity’s application, Mike O’Connor, Chief Executive of StepChange Debt Charity, said “Our FCA authorisation is testament to the charity’s work in providing the highest…

Read more

Consumer finance rises 7% in September

11th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

The latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show growth of 7% in consumer finance new business in September, compared with the same month last year. In Q3 2016, new business was also up by 7% compared with the same quarter in 2015. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew by 8%…

Read more

Consumer new car finance volumes increase by 3% in September

11th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that new business in the point-of-sale (POS) consumer new car finance market grew 9% by value and 3% by volume in September, compared with the same month last year. In Q3 2016 as a whole, new business was up 7% by value and 3%…

Read more

The Post Office can help customers affected by bank closures

11th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

The British Bankers Association’s has pledged to update its Access to Banking Protocol – the guidelines covering the way banks manage branch closures – in response to an independent report by Professor Russel Griggs. Professor Grigg’s report said banks were using the correct “robustness and rigour” when deciding whether to shut branches, but could “significantly…

Read more

Second-charge mortgage repossessions decrease 36% in Q3

11th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that the number of second-charge mortgage repossessions in Q3 2016 was 36, down 35.7% on the same quarter in 2015. Commenting on the figures, Fiona Hoyle, Head of Consumer and Mortgage Finance at the FLA, said “The third quarter of 2016 saw further…

Read more

Mortgage arrears still at 20-year low in third quarter

11th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

The overall mortgage arrears rate in the third quarter was the same as in the second quarter, with 0.84% of all mortgages recording arrears equivalent to more than 2.5% of the mortgage balance. This continues to represent the lowest arrears rate for over 20 years according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders latest statistics. The…

Read more

Advanced Collection Systems gets Government backing for debt recovery solution

10th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

Debt collection agency Advanced Collection Systems (ACS) has received support from Innovate UK, the UK’s Innovation Agency and executive arm of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), to develop and launch an intelligent software solution with the goal of changing the debt recovery model used throughout the sector. The project will be…

Read more

Intrum Justitia enters agreement to acquire 1st Credit

10th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

Intrum Justitia has entered into an agreement to acquire 1st Credit, a mid-sized purchased debt company in the United Kingdom. The purchase price on a cash and debt free basis is about £130 million, attributable to a diversified portfolio of receivables, deriving from investments from several sellers in the financial industry. 1st Credit generated earnings…

Read more

Government should conduct a post-sale review of Northern Rock assets

10th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

The Treasury should review lessons learned from the sale of former Northern Rock assets and ensure these are shared across government, the Committee of Public Accounts has said. In a new Report, the Committee concludes there are “many positives” from the sale but identifies areas for improvement, “particularly during the preparation phase”. The Committee recommends…

Read more

Arrow Global announces quarterly results

9th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

Arrow Global Group PLC has announced is results for the nine months ended 30 September 2016 (“Q3 2016”). Tom Drury, Group chief executive officer of Arrow Global said “Arrow Global continues to expand its European footprint and client offering across attractive markets where the Group is targeting leadership positions. This coupled with a high-quality and diversified…

Read more

Stepchange: Regulation has not fixed the payday loan market

9th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

Nearly two years on from tough regulations implemented by the Financial Conduct Authority, the payday loan market continues to show signs of irresponsible lending and poor treatment of people in financial difficulty, according to a new report from StepChange Debt Charity. The proportion of people coming to the charity with payday loan debts has fallen from…

Read more

November 2016: Money Statistics

8th November 2016 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for November 2016: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.503 trillion at the end of September 2016. This is up from £1.451 trillion at the end of September 2015 – an extra £1036.58 per UK adult. Per adult in the UK…

Read more