Consumer finance growth continues

15th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show growth of 10% in consumer finance new business in March, compared with the same month last year, and 6% growth in Q1 2017 as a whole. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew in March by 7%, compared with the same month…

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Money Statistics: May 2017

5th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for May 2017: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.529 trillion at the end of March 2017. This is up from £1.484 trillion at the end of March 2016 – an extra £886.84 per UK adult. The average total debt per…

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Consumer borrowing rises whilst mortgages hit a six month low

5th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Bank of England’s latest money and credit statistics have revealed that mortgage approvals have fallen to a six month low. The statistics also show an increase in consumer debts such as credit cards and loans. The Bank of England’s figures for March 2017 show consumer credit increased by 10.2% in the year to March, to…

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Over-65s mortgage debt set to double by 2030

3rd May 2017 Consumer Collections |

A study, by the International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC-UK), supported by the Building Societies Association (BSA) has found that borrowing into older age is likely to move from niche to mainstream within the next decade. The amount of mortgage debt held by over 65s is set to increase by more than £19 billion by 2030 (from…

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Financial complaints top 3 million

26th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published data on the number of complaints reported by firms under new rules which came into force on 30 June 2016. The total number of complaints reported by firms in the second half of 2016 was 3.04 million. This number is higher than previous reporting periods because under the…

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FEATURE: Is motor finance running out of road

21st April 2017 Consumer Collections |

Is the motor finance market in 2017 heading in the same direction as the US Sub-prime mortgage market in 2007? The size of the markets are very different, but there are certainly a number of similarities, which should prompt firms to review the adequacy of their risk controls, and assess their exposure. In particular: The…

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Loan broker Directors banned

21st April 2017 Consumer Collections |

Jos Timmer (also known as James Thompson) and Elizabeth Sarah Rowe have been disqualified as directors for the nefarious trading activities of an internet loan brokerage they ran. Timmer has been disqualified for 12 years, while Rowe will be subject to a six-year ban. Both were directors of More Financial Limited, which was wound up in…

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April 2017: Money Statistics

12th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for April 2017: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.524 trillion at the end of February 2017. This is up from £1.476 trillion at the end of February 2016 – an extra£964.450 per UK adult. Based on February 2017 trends, the…

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Consumer Finance new business falls by 3% in February

7th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell 3% in February, compared with the same month in 2016. Credit card and personal loan new business together fell by 4% compared with February 2016, while retail store and online credit new business was down by 5%.…

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Bluestone appoints new MD

28th February 2017 Consumer Collections |

Bluestone Group has announced the appointment of David Torpey as Managing Director (MD) of Bluestone Mortgages and Group Chief Operations Officer (COO). Torpey will fill the newly created COO role as well as assuming the position of Managing Director of Bluestone’s mortgage business, replacing Matt Andrews who has recently left the business. Torpey brings nearly…

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Credit broker fined by ICO

15th February 2017 Consumer Collections |

Credit broker Digitonomy Ltd has been fined £120,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for being responsible for millions of marketing texts sent without proper consent. Between April 2015 and February 2016 there were 1,464 complaints about the spam messages which encouraged people to apply for loans and directed them to company websites.  An ICO investigation revealed…

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FCA issues warning over unauthorised loan provider

14th February 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning over an unauthorised personal loans provider called Jazz Loans. The FCA warning statement said “We believe this firm has been providing financial services or products in the UK without our authorisation. Find out why to be especially wary of dealing with this unauthorised firm and how to…

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Mortgage possessions fall in Q4 of 2016

10th February 2017 Consumer Collections |

The number of properties taken into possession last year declined by almost 25%, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Last year’s total of 7,700 cases of possession compared with 10,200 in 2015, and was the lowest number since 1982. Over the course of 2016, the number of mortgages in arrears also fell by 7%. However,…

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