Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
As the Money Saving Expert encourages consumers to claim for potentially unfair motor vehicle credit arrangements, RSM UK is warning that credit providers could face increased operational pressures. In January, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it was undertaking a review of historic car finance arrangements, and would take regulatory action if widespread misconduct means…
Read more
Consumer card spending grew 3.1 % year-on-year in January, less than the latest inflation rate of 4.2 %, yet higher than December’s growth of 2.3 %. according to latest analysis by Barclays. The figures showed that retail, hospitality and leisure spending slowed as consumers stayed at home to shelter from the cold weather and save…
Read more
The latest Deloitte Consumer Tracker shows that consumer confidence increased for a fifth consecutive quarter to its highest level in two years. The research showed that overall confidence was boosted by a seven percentage point (+7.2) increase in confidence in household disposable income (up 20 percentage points year-on-year) as consumers appear increasingly less pessimistic following…
Read more
Latest figures from the Equity Release Council has indicated that lending has decreased. The figures show that total annual lending in 2023 was £2.6 billion following a record-breaking £6.2 billion in 2022, returning the market to the level of activity last seen between 2016 to 2017 (£2.1 billion to £3.1 billion). New and returning equity…
Read more
Latest Bank of England (BoE) data has shown that consumer borrowing dropped sharply in December, suggesting the UK economy probably slipped into recession at the end of last year. Consumer borrowing fell from £2.1bn to £1.2bn, with credit card borrowing experiencing a steep decline. Consumers repaid, on net, £800 million of mortgage debt in December compared…
Read more
According to findings from Royal London, homeowners are three times more likely to have life insurance than income protection meaning that many people in the UK are underprepared to pay their monthly housing costs if they’re unable to work due to illness or disability. When it comes to providing a financial safety net in the event…
Read more
Consumer confidence has hit the highest point in two years, with an index published by GfK increasing to -19 points in January from -22 in December. Improved optimism in household finances over the next 12 months drove the increase in the overall index, while the personal finance expectations index was flat in January, marking the…
Read more
Londoners are the most likely to have loaned money to a family member to help with the cost of living, according to new research from Hodge. Around three quarters (73%) of people aged over 50 based in the capital have gifted or loaned money to their children or other family members, and 77% of those…
Read more
The majority (84%) of UK executives think reputation management is more important for businesses now than it has been previously according to research by Amp Corporate Communications. The research found that less than half (47%) of the C-suite leaders surveyed believe their business is fully prepared to deal with reputational challenges. Regulatory compliance, cyber attacks…
Read more
New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business in November 2023 was 2% higher than in the same month in 2022. In the eleven months to November 2023, new business was also 2% lower than in the same period in 2022. The credit card and personal loans…
Read more
Latest data from the Bank of England shows consumer borrowing rose to £2 billion in November, up from £1.4 billion the month before. This is an increase on the £1.3 billion expected by analysts. The annual growth rate for consumer credit was 8.6% in November, the highest rate since September 2018. Higher borrowing on credit…
Read more
Londoners are the most reliant on their savings with almost three milion people forced to dip into savings pots to afford essential everyday costs, according to new research from AI powered transaction analytics firm, Fuse. A third (33%) of people in London rely on their savings to pay everyday expenses compared to 24% of people…
Read more
Nearly a quarter (22%) of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) users have missed one or more repayments in the six months to December 2023, leading to late payment fees and in a quarter of cases, a mark against their credit score too according to data from the nonprofit Centre for Financial Capability (CFC). More than a…
Read more