Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer car finance new business volumes fell in May 2025 by 2% compared with the same month in 2024. The corresponding value of new business grew by 1% over the same period. In the first five months of 2025, new business volumes were…
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In the first phase of reforms to the Senior Manager Certification Regime (SM&CR), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are proposing to streamline the regime to make it more effective and efficient and to drive growth in financial services. As the government consults on legislative changes to the regime – including…
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Latest UK credit card data from global analytics software leader FICO provides stark evidence that consumer financial confidence remains low. Whilst spending has followed the usual seasonal drop after Easter, the average active balance is 4.7% higher year-on-year, suggesting consumers are not able to clear as much of their credit card debt. The percentage of…
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The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) annual report has shown that over 1,600 websites suspected of promoting financial services without permission were suspended, removed or blocked in 2024. The regulator also collaborated with big tech platforms, resulting in over 50 apps being removed from Google Play and the App Store, helping the regulator to block fraud at…
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New research by Aviva and Age UK has found only half (48%) are confident they are on track to make their private pension savings last for life. Just over a quarter (26%) reported feeling financially secure, with women (19%) feeling less financially secure than men (32%). The research surveyed 1,000 mid-retirees aged 65-75 who have…
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A large proportion of younger people are deferring retirement saving in the hope that an inheritance will plug the gap, according to research from Standard Life’s Retirement Voice report. A quarter (24%) of Generation Z (those born between 1997-2012) say they’re not currently focused on retirement because they expect to receive money or property in…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Monzo Bank £21,091,300 for its inadequate anti-financial crime systems and controls between October 2018 and August 2020. Monzo also repeatedly breached a requirement preventing it from opening accounts for high-risk customers between August 2020 and June 2022. Monzo’s customer base has grown rapidly, increasing almost tenfold from around…
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Seven in ten people are set to holiday, though 75% of those are finding ways to cut travel costs compared to their last trip, according to new KPMG research. The number of people feeling financially secure has risen this quarter by three percentage points to 58%, whilst confidence that the UK economy is improving has…
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UK Finance has backed calls that the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) should be stopped from acting as a quasi-regulator”and insists on a timetable of reform for the body. The move comes in the banking body’s submission to the government ahead of the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Mansion House speech later this month and the Treasury’s Financial…
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Lenders said they lifted the availability of household secured credit in the three months to the end of May and expect to do so again over the coming quarter, according to a latest Bank of England survey. The survey found that lenders reported that the availability of both secured and unsecured credit to households increased…
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The average credit card debt per borrower has climbed to £2,920 according to research by TransUnion. With two-thirds (67%) of consumers feeling financially comfortable and 43% optimistic about their household finances over the next 12 months – up from 26% in 2022 – demand for credit is growing. Since 2022, the average credit card balance…
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Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) have surged, with 305,726 recorded in the year to 31st March 2025. This is the highest total since the 388,392 seen in the year to March 2019, when the PPI scandal drove a spike in complaints. The latest increase comes amid the motor finance scandal, with the Supreme…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has extended rules on bullying, harassment and violence Previously, it was often unclear when these types of behaviours would amount to a conduct rules breach in a firm other than a bank. From !st September 2026, the same rules will be extended to around 37,000 other regulated firms, increasing consistency…
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