BSA appoints new Chair

5th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

Jonathan Westhoff, Chief Executive of the West Bromwich Building Society, has been elected Chairman of the BSA. He replaces Dick Jenkins, Chief Executive of the Bath Building Society, who has held the post since November 2015. At the same time, Stephen Mitcham, Chief Executive of Cambridge Building Society, has been elected as Deputy Chairman. Commenting…

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Over-65s mortgage debt set to double by 2030

3rd May 2017 Consumer Collections |

A study, by the International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC-UK), supported by the Building Societies Association (BSA) has found that borrowing into older age is likely to move from niche to mainstream within the next decade. The amount of mortgage debt held by over 65s is set to increase by more than £19 billion by 2030 (from…

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Bank of Mum and Dad fund over a quarter of home purchases

2nd May 2017 Consumer Collections |

Legal & General and Cebr have published a new report into the role the Bank of Mum and Dad plays in helping their children get on, or move up the property ladder. The research shows the Bank of Mum and Dad will lend over £6.5 billion in 2017, up from £5bn in 2016, providing deposits for…

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Cards spending increases by £300 million in February

28th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

New figures fromThe UK Cards Association show that total card spending in February 2017 was £57.2 billion, an increase of £300 million on January, and up from £52.2 billion in February 2016. Other findings in the report showed: The number of card purchases increased to 1.3 billion, up by 14 million during the month and…

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Personal insolvencies rise by 15.7%

28th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

The latest results Insolvency statistics from The Insolvency Service for Quarter 1 (January to March 2016) reveal that Personal Insolvency numbers have gone up. The main findings of the report were: Total individual insolvencies increased this quarter, driven primarily by an increase in individual voluntary arrangements. This was the highest number of individual insolvencies since Q2…

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Bank of England launches Code of Conduct

27th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Bank of England has launched a new voluntary code of conduct designed to promote ‘fairness and integrity’ in UK money markets. Although not legally binding, it is hoped senior managers will oversee the code’s implementation within financial firms. The code sets out key behavioural principles around ethics, information-sharing and trade execution, and helps to…

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Financial complaints top 3 million

26th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published data on the number of complaints reported by firms under new rules which came into force on 30 June 2016. The total number of complaints reported by firms in the second half of 2016 was 3.04 million. This number is higher than previous reporting periods because under the…

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FCA guidance on fair treatment of mortgage arrears

26th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

Finalised guidance on the fair treatment of mortgage customers in payment shortfall (also known as arrears) and the impact of automatic capitalisation (FG17/4) has been published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The guidance will help set out a remediation framework for customers who have suffered harm because of automatic capitalisation of payment shortfall, as…

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Central Bank of Ireland fine AIB over AML failures

26th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Central Bank of Ireland has fined Allied Irish Banks,(‘AIB’) €2,275,000 and reprimanded it for six breaches of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing) Act, 2010. All six breaches have been admitted by AIB. The Central Bank identified six breaches of the CJA 2010 as a result of significant failures in AIB’s anti‐money…

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Credit Union goes out of business

25th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has stepped in to protect members of Yoker Credit Union Limited, which has stopped trading. The credit union is now in default. This means it cannot re-pay deposits to its 1200 members. FSCS will compensate the vast majority of members within seven days without them having to lift a…

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FSCS consumer awareness continues to improve

24th April 2017 Consumer Collections |

New research by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) shows that almost two-thirds of respondents feel reassured knowing that FSCS protects their money if their bank, building society or credit union fails. On 30 January 2017, the FSCS protection limit increased from £75,000 to £85,000 following a consultation from the Prudential Regulation Authority. The research by…

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FEATURE: Is motor finance running out of road

21st April 2017 Consumer Collections |

Is the motor finance market in 2017 heading in the same direction as the US Sub-prime mortgage market in 2007? The size of the markets are very different, but there are certainly a number of similarities, which should prompt firms to review the adequacy of their risk controls, and assess their exposure. In particular: The…

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Beverley Building Society appoints Deputy Chief Executive

21st April 2017 Consumer Collections |

 Beverley Building Society has promoted Janet Bedford from Finance Director to Deputy Chief Executive. Last year CEO, Peter Myers announced that he would leave Beverley Building Society. Bedford will lead the society for an interim period until a new chief executive is announced in the Summer. Peter Myers said: “I am thrilled that Janet has…

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