Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is set to receive an additional £9.3 million in funding to enhance its capabilities in combating fraud. Funding has been provided to create a new team which will extend SFO’s capabilities to seize assets from convicted fraudsters, and expand and accelerate the use of technology to assist disclosure. It will…
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Latest mortgage lending data from UK Finance has found that there were 93,630 homeowner mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more of the outstanding balance in Q3 2024, 3% fewer than in the previous quarter (96,090), but 8% higher than the same quarter in 2023 (87,010). The data also showed that there were 32,860 homeowner mortgages…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew in September 2024 by 9% compared with the same month in 2023. In the first nine months of 2024, new business in this market was 1% higher than in the same period in 2023. The credit card and…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer car finance new business volumes grew in September 2024 by 4% compared with the same month in 2023. The corresponding value of new business increased by 8% over the same period. In the first nine months of 2024, new business was 2%…
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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted to cut the base rate by 0.25% to 4.75%. MPC voted 8-1 to cut rates, with the dissenter preferring to leave cuts unchanged at 5%. Inflation is expected to increase to around 2.5% by the end of the year, from 1.7% in September. Steve Vaid,…
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The Government has published new guidance that will provide organisations with advice on how to take action to prevent fraud. Introduced last year as part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCT), the offence is intended to hold large organisations to account if they profit from fraud. Under the offence, which has cross-Parliament…
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The Government has announced that it plans to increase the cap on tuition fees for England-domiciled undergraduate students from £9,250 to £9,535 for the 2025-26 academic year. This is in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast for inflation as measured by RPIX (3.1%). This ends a long-running cash freeze in the fee…
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Data from Barclays shows that spending on cards rose by 0.7% in October, marking a slowdown from the 1.1% rise recorded in September. Overall Retail spending grew 0.7% in October 2024, a slight fall compared to the year-on-year growth seen in September 2024 (1.1%). Nonetheless, this is a third consecutive month of growth for the sector as it…
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Sainsbury’s has announced that it has sold its Argos Financial Services (Home Retail Group Card Service) cards portfolio to NewDay Group for £720 million, aligning with its strategy to concentrate on core retail operations. The supermarket has announced that it has also partnered with NewDay to launch a new Argos-branded digital credit offer. This move…
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Latest Bank of England Money and Credit data has shown credit borrowing by individuals was £1.2 billion in September, down from £1.4 billion in the previous month. Commenting on the date Tom Cuppello, Director, Risk at Broadstone said “Consumer confidence has suffered in the run up to the Budget which appears to have hit borrowing…
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Latest Bank of England Money and Credit data has shown that mortgage approvals increased in September for the fourth consecutive month. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases rose from 56,100 in January, to 60,400 in February. Net approvals for remortgaging also increased, from 30,900 to 37,700 during this period. Individuals borrowed, on net, £1.5 billion…
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A new report from Go.Compare Car Insurance has revealed that the cost of getting on the road in 2024, including the cost of a first car, has increased by 19%, from £5,947.40 in 2023 to £7,100 in 2024. The report is compiled annually by the comparison site and looks at the overall costs associated with…
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The Court of Appeal has sided with consumers against banks and lenders in a motor finance test case, ruling that a broker could not lawfully receive a commission from the lender without obtaining the customer’s fully informed consent to the payment. Consumers who complained about ‘secret’ commissions on car loans, in a landmark ruling. Lawyers…
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