Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Specialist lender Together has tannounced the appointment of financial services expert Martin Souter as its Commercial Credit and Risk Director. Souter will be responsible for overseeing credit risk, leading the corporate underwriting, portfolio and risk management teams. He will be ensuring that Together’s Commercial team continues to operate smoothly and achieve the best outcomes for…
Read more
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has determined that the six largest banks Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander have implemented the requirements of the Open Banking roadmap. Open Banking was launched in the UK in 2017 as part of a package of improvements following the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) market investigation into…
Read more
New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell by 6% in November 2022 compared with the same month in 2021. In the eleven months to November 2022, new business was 15% higher than in the same period in 2021. The credit card and personal loan sectors…
Read more
New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer car finance new business volumes fell in November 2022 by 6% compared with the same month in 2021. The corresponding value of new business decreased by 5% over the same period. In the eleven months to November 2022, new business volumes were…
Read more
A poll by insurer Direct Line has found that 25% of households have no money set aside for emergencies, with 32% saying they have stopped saving due to the rising cost of living. The household which indicated that they do have a savings pot, 47% say they have now stopped adding to it. The survey…
Read more
Qatari-owned Al Rayan Bank has been fined £4.02 million (£4,023,600) by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which uncovered multiple failings between April 2015 and November 2017. The Knightsbridge branch of the Shariah-compliant bank accepted cash deposits of hundreds of thousands of pounds without doing proper anti-money-laundering (AML) and terrorist financing checks. It failed to carry…
Read more
Over a third (34%) of UK shoppers have now used Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services to spread the cost of purchases1, and thousands chose to use BNPL for the first time over the 2022 festive season. That’s according to the latest BNPL Barometer from Equifax, one of the UK’s big three credit reference agencies.…
Read more
Guaranty Trust Bank has been fined £7,671,800 over serious weaknesses in its systems and controls designed to prevent money laundering. The Financial Conduct Authority found serious weaknesses in its anti-money laundering (AML) systems and controls between October 2014 and July 2019. During the relevant period, GT Bank failed to undertake adequate customer risk assessments, often not…
Read more
More than 1.4 million households are facing a steep increase in their monthly outgoings when they are forced to renew their fixed rate mortgages this year according to new Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis. The research shows that the 57% of fixed rate mortgages coming up for renewal in 2023 are fixed at interest…
Read more
High-cost short-term specialist lender, Indigo Michael trading as Tappily and SafetyNet has entered administration. Joseph O’Connor, Clare Kennedy and Simon Appell of AlixPartners UK LLP have been appointed Joint Administrators. Indigo Michael employs roughly 250 people and has about 150,000 active customers. The company is a high-cost lender which provides customers with running account credit…
Read more
Almost one in five (18%) consumers aged 35-54 think buying a home with a mortgage will be unachievable for them with the average adult believing that the age for financial independence now sits at 29 years old according to research by Forbes Advisor. The research found that over a quarter (26%) of 45–54-year-olds required financial…
Read more
Remortgaging will dominate mortgage intermediary business in 2023, Paragon Bank research has revealed. A survey of over 350 mortgage brokers found that 78% believe that remortgaging will be the strongest driver of business over the next 12 months, followed by buy-to-let remortgaging, cited by 51%. A third of brokers claimed (33%) claimed that interest-only mortgages…
Read more
Consumer card spending grew by 10.6% in 2022, according to data from Barclaycard, with the amount spent on debit and credit cards climbing year-on-year as people returned to shopping in-store, eating and drinking out, and booking holidays. Spending on essential items grew by 6.3% – thanks to a 28.3% rise in fuel outlay that was…
Read more