Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Bank of England has announced that it has reduced the Bank Rate by 0.25% to 4.25%, marking the second cut this year. The MPC voted 5 to 4 in favour of the cut, with two members preferring to cut rates by 0.5% to 4.0% and two preferring to leave rates unchanged at 4.5%. Commenting on the…
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LiveMore, the mortgage lender for people aged 50 to 90 plus, is calling on the financial services industry to come together to redefine and clarify what ‘later life lending’ really means. While the term has become increasingly common, LiveMore warns that it is still widely – and incorrectly – used as a synonym for equity…
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Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) regarding banks and credit card companies surged by 76% year-on-year in H2 2024, accounting for 109,155 out of an overall total of 141,846 complaints. This increase is attributed to a rise in financial scams and fraud. Vanquis Bank topped the list with 17,612 new complaints, followed by credit…
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2025’s Deaf Awareness Week gets underway, the LSB (Lending Standards Board) has published its annual update on the availability of accessibility tools and services for deaf or hard of hearing people across the UK’s financial services sector. This update follows the LSB’s 2023 report on the challenges deaf or hard of hearing people can face when…
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Latest Bank of England data has shown that net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals was £0.9 billion in March, down from £1.3 billion in the previous month. Within this, net borrowing through credit cards decreased to £0.2 billion in March, the lowest since April 2024 (£0.2 billion). Net borrowing through other forms of consumer…
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A new report from the Building Societies Association (BSA) has found that a significant number of potential first-time buyers have failed to get on the property ladder since the financial crisis. Analysis of historic first-time buyer data shows that around 7.2 million individuals or couples would have been expected to buy their first home since…
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The latest data on Credit Unions released by the Bank of England has found that there are now 2,152,812 members of Credit Unions as of the end of 2024 – an increase of 58,295 through the year (2,094,517 as of the end of 2024). Loans to members also registered another notable increase, rising £146 million…
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Latetst Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), complaints to financial services firms decreased by 4.3% in the second half of 2024, coming in at 1.78 million. The decline may reflect the positive effects of the FCA’s Consumer Duty, which mandates that firms prioritise customer needs in their operations. The total redress paid also fell by 3% to…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it is seeking views from firms about how its live AI testing service can help them to deploy safe and responsible AI, which will benefit UK consumers and markets. The live testing service would be a new component of the FCA’s AI Lab, which has been supporting…
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Consumer confidence dropped in April to the lowest level in over a year due to concerns over global trade and rising living costs, the GfK consumer confidence index has shown. The reading fell by four points to minus 23 in April, the lowest point since November 2023. Findings showed the reading was brought down by…
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Long-neglected rules governing capital means-testing in Universal Credit (UC) are undermining other Government policies aimed at encouraging lower-income households to accrue savings, according to new research from the Resolution Foundation. The report notes that the current capital thresholds, which have been frozen in cash terms since 2006, mean that a claimant’s UC entitlement is tapered…
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The latest Property Tracker survey from the Building Societies Association (BSA), reveals a decline in consumer confidence in the housing market. Just 17% of people agree now is a good time to buy a property, a decline from 20% just three months ago (Jan 2025). More than double this number didn’t think now was a…
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High net worth women are feeling more anxious about their finances than men, according to new research by Saltus. The insight found that financial pressures are not only increasing, but also that women are feeling the pressures more than men. The data showed that 40% of female respondents said their money makes them anxious, compared to…
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