Credit Union membership passes two million

Latest Bank of England data has found that the number of adults who are members of Credit Unions has passed two million for the first time. The number of adult members of Credit Unions grew by 1.3% in 2023 Quarter 1 (Q1). The total value of net liabilities in arrears grew by 10% to £139.8…

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Property funding from family set to hit record high

The Bank of Family is expected to provide record levels of financial support to the property market this year, with families predicted to contribute £8.1 billion to homebuyers according to research by Legal & General and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). This funding is set to support 47% of all homes purchased…

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Nearly half of private school parents rely on family to pay the fees

25th August 2023 Alternative Consumer Lending |

Nearly half of parents with children at private schools rely on family help to afford the fees with the Bank of Gran and Grandad the biggest source of funding, new research from Premium Credit,  a leading provider of finance for school fees, shows. Its study found 47% admit to relying on financial support from family…

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Increasing number of people turn to equity release amidst mortgage rate rise

New research by 55Plus has found that equity release cases across the industry has rapidly increased this year, as homeowners over 55 look for solutions to combat rising residential mortgage rates. The company says it has witnessed an increase in enquiries from people looking to remortgage, as a direct result.  Jan Johnson, Founder and Director of…

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Record high in Credit Union lending

The Bank of England has published the 2022 Annual Statistics for the credit union sector which revealed a record level of British credit union members, as well as the highest lending amounts ever seen. There was also the steepest rise in lending on record between 2021 and 2022. Total membership for 2022 was 1.41 million,…

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Home credit lender falls into administration

Home collected credit firm, CLC Finance has entered into administration. CLC Finance is a trading brand of Hamsard 3225 Limited. The company is a high-cost lender operating in various regions in England and Scotland including Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, North-East, Cumbria, Strathclyde, Tayside, Mid Lothian, Kilmarnock and Ayrshire.  Robert Maxwell and Julian Pitts of…

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Quantuma appointed as credit union enters administration

Hastings & Rother Credit Union Limited, trading as 1066 Community Bank has entered administration The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) declared Hastings & Rother Credit Union as failed (in default). Dina Devalia and James Varney of business advisory firm Quantuma have been appointed as Joint Administrators of financial cooperative. The East Sussex credit union with…

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Bridging loan books continue to grow

The Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL) Bridging Mortgage loan books continued to grow in Q2 2023, increasing by more than 5% to an all-time high of just over £7.1bn. This is following the latest data collection information provided by its member lenders. The figures, compiled by auditors from data provided by members of the…

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Equity release lending falls 5%

Latest figures from the Equity Release Council for Quarter 2 (Q2) showed that the total equity release lending figure of £664 million was down 5% from the previous quarter, making it the quietest since lending quarter since Q3 2016 when £571 million was lent. The number of active customers in Q2 rose slightly to 17,028,…

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Third of adults don’t think BNPL will lead to debt

16 million people are still unaware you can get into debt using ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL) services*, according to research from lender, Creditspring.  A third of people (31%) still don’t think that BNPL purchases can lead to debt, however, this jumps to over half (51%) for those aged 18-24 who are 29% more likely…

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Third of grandparents have gifted money to grandchildren 

Almost a third of grandparents say they have lent or gifted money to their grandchildren, with the elderly family members paying out £2,119 on average according to new research by Saga. 17 per cent of those surveyed said they had used the cash to buy a first property and the same amount saying that it…

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Three million people have borrowed from loan sharks in last three years

New research from Ipsos and Fair4AllFinance shows that 3 million people have borrowed money from an illegal ‘loan shark’ lender over the past three years, as high-street lenders turn people worrying about rising bills and mortgage rates away while the cost of living bites. Results from a new online survey amongst a representative quota sample…

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One fifth of teachers reliant on BNPL

One fifth (18%) of teachers have been forced to rely on buy now, pay later (BNPL) payment options to afford their weekly shop, according to new research from responsible lender, Creditspring. More than a quarter of teachers (26%) say they wish they’d never used BNPL options, with 14% admitting they’d were unable to meet repayments…

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