Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew in November 2019 by 2% compared with the same month in 2018, and held steady in the eleven months to November 2019. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew in November 2019 by 2% compared with…
Read more
New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that second charge mortgage new business volumes increased by 14% in November 2019 Commenting on the November 2019 new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Head of Consumer and Mortgage Finance at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said “The…
Read more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has requested further information about overdraft pricing from lenders. The FCA says over the past few days there has been significant comment about many headline overdraft rates, and in particular that major banks have aligned overdraft rates around 40 per cent. The FCA study into the overdraft market concluded that it…
Read more
HM Treasury, following the advice of the board of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has appointed Christopher Woolard as Interim Chief Executive. Woolard will take on the Chief Executive role following Andrew Bailey’s departure to become Governor of the Bank of England. Woolard is currently the FCA’s Executive Director of Strategy and Competition and an…
Read more
A new Collections Technology Think Tank has been launched by Credit Connect Media. The event will examine collections technology strategies to increase effectiveness and efficiency. The inaugural Collections Technology Think Tank powered by Credit Connect will take place on Thursday 11th June at the Marriott Hotel in Leeds. The event will focus on how collections teams can…
Read more
The latest figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) show continued rises in overall fraud, with a 9% increase in the year ending September 2019, driven by a rise in ‘bank and credit account fraud’ according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). Commenting on the figures Josh Gunnell, Head…
Read more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says seven out of ten overdraft users will be better off or see no change when the new rules on overdrafts come into force in April. The says around 14 million people use an unarranged overdraft each year, and all of these users will be better off or see no…
Read more
The latest official statistics show that personal solvency numbers in Scotland for the whole of 2019 were 13% higher than in 2018, and were at their highest level since 2013. Meanwhile, the number of personal insolvencies (bankruptcies and protected trust deeds) in Scotland fell by 5% in October-December 2019 compared with July-September 2019, and rose by…
Read more
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that it has extended the loyalty penalty deadline by six months to ensure regulators take effective action. The loyalty penalty – where companies penalise longstanding customers by charging them higher prices than new customers or those who renegotiate their deal – is in response to concerns raised…
Read more
An increasing number of people aged over 65 are using equity release products to pay off debts and mortgages. Customer data from LV= shows that 27% of customers in 2019 used equity release to clear their mortgage, loans or debts compared to 15% in 2016. Helping family and friends has risen from 8% to 16%…
Read more
Brightstar Financial has appointed Maria Harris as Technology Consultant. Harris has been formerly Director of Retail Mortgages at Atom Bank. In her new role, Harris will support the development of Brightstar Financials’ technology platforms. Brightstar Group group chief executive Rob Jupp said “Technology plays a big role in this proposition and there are few people…
Read more
The Government is set to roll out a financial wellbeing programme designed to turn UK into a ‘nation of savers’ by 2030. The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) says that the initiative will see an extra 2 million people saving regularly within a decade, while 2 million fewer would be using credit cards for day-to-day…
Read more
The Bank of England’s (BoE) credit conditions survey shows consumers were more hesitant about credit card spending in the closing months of 2019, with a balance of -13. 3% of lenders reporting a rise in demand for unsecured lending. A balance of -6 .7% of respondents had increased the availability of unsecured credit. The survey…
Read more