Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Bank of England has cut interest rates by a quarter point to 3.75% in response to a weakening labour market and slowing inflation. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 5-4 in favour of the cut, marking the first reduction since August. Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage and Housing Policy at the Building Societies Association, said…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is enhancing its efforts to improve standards in the home and travel insurance markets following a super-complaint from Which? The FCA plans to review claims handling and customer service over the next year. It aims to boost consumer understanding of insurance products and ensure firms provide accurate information at the…
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Digital bank Monzo has announced that it will acquire digital mortgage broker Habito. Founded in 2016 Habito employs approximately 100 people. The deal comes as Monzo looks to branch out beyond its core digital banking products, becoming the first UK bank to offer end-to-end mortgage broking within its app. Kunal Malani, Chief Banking Officer at…
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Intermediaries think government policy is the number one risk to the mortgage market, according to research from Black & White Bridging. Black & White Bridging polled one hundred intermediaries active in the bridging sector and asked them to rank risks to the mortgage market, risks that included Bank of England base rate decisions, consumer affordability,…
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UK Finance has forecasted that overall gross lending is set to rise by 4% to £300 billion in 2026. In its Mortgage Market Forecast for 2026, data shows lending for house purchases grew by 22% this year to £176 billion, with a notable spike in activity in advance of the stamp duty increase in April.…
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Nationwide Building Society has been fined £44 million by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for failing to manage financial crime risks from October 2016 to July 2021. The FCA found that Nationwide lacked adequate anti-financial crime systems, allowing customers to misuse personal accounts for business activities. This oversight led to missed opportunities in detecting £27.3m…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced new plans to reform the mortgage market to widen access to affordable mortgages for consumers. The four areas of focus include simplifying mortgage rules for first-time buyers and underserved consumers; reviewing retirement interest-only requirements to make them more accessible; improving innovation and disclosure rules and working with…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew in October 2025 by 6% compared with the same month in 2024. In the ten months to October 2025, new business in this market was 5% higher than in the same period in 2024. The credit card and…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer car finance new business volumes grew in October 2025 by 3% compared with the same month in 2024. The corresponding value of new business was 8% higher over the same period. In the ten months to October 2025, new business volumes grew…
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New data from AJ Bell has found that one-in-five (19%) people have less than £1,000 saved in an emergency cash pot. The data showed that younger people tend to have less saved than older people – 21% of over 55s have £20,000 or more saved in an emergency cash pot, while 37% of 18 to…
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Latest Bank of England figures show that mortgage lending recorded its strongest quarterly jump in five years in the third quarter of 2025, with gross advances rising 36.9% to £80.4 billion. The increase marks the sharpest quarterly gain since 2020 amid a renewed surge in the UK property market. The data showed that the outstanding…
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Latest data from Barclays shows that consumer card spending declined -1.1 per cent year-on-year in November – the greatest fall recorded since February 2021 (-9.5 per cent), and considerably lower than the latest CPIH inflation rate of 3.8 per cent. Amid ongoing consumer uncertainty, essential spend dropped -2.9 per cent, marking seven consecutive months of…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed changes to simplify its rules and lower costs for insurers, while maintaining appropriate levels of protection for smaller commercial customers. The regulator’s final rules aim to give insurance firms greater flexibility and responsibility, including determining the frequency of their product reviews and how much continual professional development (CPD)…
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