Outdated assessments push consumer debt off track

28th September 2017 Consumer Collections |

Among growing concerns about high consumer debt levels in the UK, a new study finds that almost a third of credit card and personal loan debt – up to £35bn – is sitting with people who are deemed to have low financial maturity. Aire, which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to help lenders provide applicants…

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Mortgage lending hits £24.2bn in August

27th September 2017 Consumer Collections |

UK finance has published its latest mortgage lending data estimating that overall gross mortgage lending in August was £24.2bn, of which £15.1bn was lent by high street banks. Accounting for seasonal factors, this figure is in the same ball park as monthly lending over the course of 2017 according to it’s latest lending figures. House…

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BOE warns of consumer credit pocket of risk

26th September 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Bank of England’s (BoE) Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has said that lenders are creating pockets of risk by placing too much weight on recent benign conditions. In a statement from its policy meeting on 20 September 2017, the BoE said that the overall credit quality of consumer credit has improved significantly since the financial crisis.…

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Industry reaction: RBS delays low rate credit card launch

26th September 2017 Consumer Collections |

RBS has announced its plans to postpone the introduction of cut-price credit cards and the Labour Party has pledged to back legislation limiting the amount of interest that can be charged on credit card debt. Key industry groups have responded to the developments in the consumer credit landscape. Steve McNicholas, Managing Director – Credit and…

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Beverley Building Society appoint new CEO

25th September 2017 Consumer Collections |

Beverley Building Society has appointed Karl Elliott as its new Chief Executive Officer. Elliott joins from financial services mutual OneFamily in Brighton where he was Marketing Director, having previously worked for Harrogate based Engage Mutual for 15 years. Brian Young, Chair of Beverley Building Society said: “This announcement concludes the board’s thorough process to recruit Karl as…

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Financial software must become more useful to customers

22nd September 2017 Consumer Collections |

Financial services software must become easier to use and more useful to customers in the face of the new Revised Payments Services Directive 2 (PSD2) regulation according to financial software firm Copernicus. Allen Jones, Managing Director at financial software experts Copernicus believes that ease of use and practicality are principles that need to be embraced…

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Paragon Group changes name amid restructure

22nd September 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Paragon Group of Companie has announced a strategic reorganisation of the Group to accelerate its transformation into a diversified specialist banking institution. This reorganisation will increase operational and financial efficiency, enhancing engagement and delivery to customers and business partners and will increase the Group’s capacity to meet its ambitious growth plans. As part of…

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Bank of Ireland UK acquires Marshall Leasing for £42.5 million

22nd September 2017 Consumer Collections |

Marshall Motor has sold its leasing division to Bank of Ireland UK, who will incorporate it into its car and asset finance arm, Northridge Finance. The acquisition of Marshall Leasing is conditional upon Northridge Finance receiving regulatory approval. Established in 1979 and based in Cambridgeshire, Marshall Leasing provides a range of contract hire fleet services…

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Older borrowers face struggle to get full advice

21st September 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published an Occasional Paper outlining the findings from a project that explored how the ageing population would impact the Financial Services industry. The FCA launched the Ageing Population Project in February 2016 to explore how older people use financial services and products. The paper reviews the public policy…

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FSCS to raise awareness of deposit protection

21st September 2017 Consumer Collections |

A new agreement on how deposit-takers communicate about FSCS protection has launched today. This will enhance consumer awareness of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme’s (FSCS) guarantee for deposits in banks and building societies and reassure them that their money is protected under the scheme no matter how they choose to bank. This protects deposits up…

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Machine learning trial highlights predictive accuracy future

20th September 2017 Consumer Collections |

The results of a year-long machine learning trial conducted by Callcredit Information Group point to potentially significant positive benefits in predictive accuracy across a range of established data models. The study looked at a number of different scenarios, ranging from identifying potentially fraudulent applications through to the accuracy of underwriting decisions in predicting a customer’s…

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Rising debt levels highlight the struggle to cover household bills

20th September 2017 Consumer Collections |

Rising debt levels and the continued struggle to meet essential household bills are among the key findings from the latest statistical research released today by StepChange Debt Charity. The Statistics Mid-Year Book which examines the latest trends from the charity’s client data, highlights how increasing numbers of the under-40s, lone parents and people in rented…

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High street banks top customer complaints table

20th September 2017 Consumer Collections |

The UK’s high street banks have been ranked among the poorest performers for customer satisfaction and complaints handling, according to new analysis by Which?. Lloyds was the worst performing big bank with an overall score of 58% – is in joint bottom place with Danske Bank. The results make disappointing reading for many of the…

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