Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Latest Bank of England data has revealed that in the last three months of 2022, mortgages agreed for the coming months were down by a third (33.5%) from the previous three months, and down a quarter (24.5%) in a year, excluding the onset of the pandemic when the market was effectively closed, this is the…
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UK Finance has released its latest Household Finance Review which showed a decline in consumer confidence and a drop in mortgage applications in Quarter 4 (Q4) 2022. Following the September 2022 mini budget consumer confidence fell below already-low levels. Despite the concerns of households about their finances, overall card spending remained steady in Q4. However,…
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Experian has announced plans to pilot a new service that could help millions of financially excluded people get better access to mainstream financial services. The new initiative aims to help people with little or no credit history, the so called ‘credit invisibles’ to build out their credit files in as little as three months, for…
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New research by TotallyMoney and PwC has found that 10.7 million women are locked out of accessing mainstream financial products. The research also found that on average, women have a 10 point lower credit score than men, a gap that exists throughout their entire lifetime. Lenders are 16% less likely to provide women with pre-approved…
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Latest Bank of England (BoE) data has shown that consumers borrowed in January with an additional £1.6 billion in consumer credit compared with £0.8 billion borrowed in December. This was split between £1.1 billion of borrowing on credit cards and £0.5 billion of borrowing through other forms of consumer credit. Credit figures show consumer credit…
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A survey by data company GfK shows that consumer confidence has unexpectedly bounced back from historic lows to hit the highest level since April 2022. GfK’s consumer confidence index has risen by seven points in February, although the headline score remains at a “severely depressed” -38. While confidence in the general economic situation over the…
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The average woman in paid employment effectively works for free for nearly two months of the year compared to the average man in paid employment, according to analysis published by the TUC. The gender pay gap for all employees currently stands at 14.9%. This pay gap means that working women must wait 54 days, nearly…
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New research by Fluro has found a surge in personal loan requests as consumers consolidate their debts.. The study reveals that the UK consumer lending market has experienced a spike in activity in January 2023, with Fluro’s data tracking the highest numbers of loans requested since the summer. The year began with just over a…
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Consumer finance new business grew by 13% through 2022 compared to the previous year according to the latest Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) data. The credit card and personal loan sectors together reported new business up by 17% in 2022 compared to 2021, despite credit card rates reaching their highest level since 1998 and continued…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell by 4% in December 2022 compared with the same month in 2021. In 2022 as a whole, new business was 13% higher than in 2021. The credit card and personal loan sectors together reported a fall in new…
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Consumers Spent £8 billion online in January whilst the use Use of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) rose to 12% according to research by Adobe analytics The data shows that UK consumers spent £8 billion online in January, 26.7% less than in December 2022, and a year-on year decrease of 1.4%. It also identified an…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has publicly censured Amigo Loans for failing to conduct adequate affordability checks on borrowers and guarantors. The FCA says it would have imposed a fine of £72.9 million however Amigo demonstrated that this would cause it serious financial hardship. A fine would also have threatened Amigo’s ability to meet its…
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New research by Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found that billions of pounds loaned by the ‘bank of mum and dad’ to help with property purchases and to boost the finances of newly married offspring are helping to fuel rising levels of inequality. The research found that £17 billion is gifted or loaned informally…
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