Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Consumers are increasingly using credit to pay for insurance cover and switching to monthly payments for car and home insurance to manage their bills, new research from Premium Credit shows has found. Premium Credit’s Insurance Index, now in its sixth year, found that 76% of insurance customers use some form of credit to pay for…
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Latest Barclays property insight data has shown that rent and mortgage spending increased 5.2 per cent year-on-year in April, down slightly from 5.4 per cent in March, as many lenders reduced mortgage rates. Confidence in household finances remained consistent month-on-month at 70 per cent, while many UK homeowners are taking prudent steps to decrease their…
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The Bank of England has announced that it has reduced the Bank Rate by 0.25% to 4.25%, marking the second cut this year. The MPC voted 5 to 4 in favour of the cut, with two members preferring to cut rates by 0.5% to 4.0% and two preferring to leave rates unchanged at 4.5%. Commenting on the…
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Latest Bank of England data has shown that net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals was £0.9 billion in March, down from £1.3 billion in the previous month. Within this, net borrowing through credit cards decreased to £0.2 billion in March, the lowest since April 2024 (£0.2 billion). Net borrowing through other forms of consumer…
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High net worth women are feeling more anxious about their finances than men, according to new research by Saltus. The insight found that financial pressures are not only increasing, but also that women are feeling the pressures more than men. The data showed that 40% of female respondents said their money makes them anxious, compared to…
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New research by TransUnion has revealed that over the last 12 months, there has been an 8% increase in the proportion of UK consumers who said they have a credit card, yet a third say they don’t know their credit score. The report also found that inflation remains above the Bank of England’s 2% target,…
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New research by Compare the Market has found that only 17% of credit card users have a strong grasp of how credit scores are determined, while over a third (36%) admit to having limited or no understanding. More than four in ten credit card users (46%) worry about maintaining a healthy credit score. However, the…
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Consumer credit borrowing rose to £1.4 billion, higher than the average gain of £1.2 billion over the previous six months according to latest Bank of England data. Consumer credit borrowing by individuals was down from £1.7 billion in the previous month. Within this, net borrowing through credit cards decreased to £0.8 billion from £1.1 billion.…
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A majority of consumers are not optimistic about the economy, according to a KPMG poll. Three in five people say that the UK economy is worsening, leading even consumers feeling financially secure to cut back on spending. The number of people feeling that the UK economy is worsening grew by fifteen percentage points in the…
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A new report by Age UK has warned that groups of pensioners are still struggling with the cost of living, with one in three (34%), equivalent to 4.1 million pensioners stating that they felt less financially secure heading into 2025 compared to when 2024 began. The Charity’s new report highlights its concerns about the impact on older…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew in January 2025 by 2% compared with the same month in 2024. In the twelve months to January 2025, new business in this market was also 2% higher than in the same period in 2024. The credit card…
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New figures from Experian has found that that fraudsters deploying AI technology to combine personal information to create new identities highlighting the rise of ‘synthetic fraud’ in the UK. Analysis of confirmed fraudulent and potentially fraudulent credit applications shows that there was an increase of 60% in false identity cases in 2024 when compared to…
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The total outstanding balance of residential mortgages reached a record £1,678.2 billion in Q4 2024, an increase by 0.5% from the previous quarter to according to latest Bank of England data. The rise is attributed to first-time buyers, who accounted for nearly 30% of new lending. The average age of first-time buyers is now 33.5…
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