Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
EQ Credit Services has released its latest UK research report into the unsecured lending sector which has revealed some startling consumer attitude shifts including a ‘new nervousness’ characterising the current credit market. This appeared most acute amongst the youngest generation (age 18-24), with over half of this group responding that they would only be prepared…
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Provident Financial (PFG) has confirmed that it is closing down its loss-making 141-year-old doorstep lending business. The division employs more than 2,000 people. The news comes as the Group releases its preliminary results for the year ended 31st December 2020, which feature a pre-tax loss of £113.5 million (2019: pre-tax profit of £119 million). The…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) have shown that consumer finance new business grew in March 2021 by 7% compared with the same month in 2020. In Q1 2021, new business was 17% lower than in Q1 2020. The retail store and online credit sector reported growth in new business of…
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Media speculation has suggested that sub prime lender specialist, Provident Financial is preparing to shut its doorstep lending business which has been running for 141 years. The Times newspaper and other national media outlets have reported that Provident was planning to close the division after 141 years and instead focus on its credit card and…
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Credit Connect’s hosted its second Online Collections Technology Think Tank 2.0 last week which saw collections strategies and the impact of the pandemic discussed by fourteen collections professionals from a variety of industry sectors. The themes of business transformation, customer engagement, affordability, and open banking collections were discussed by panellists and Chair Vanessa Northam from StepChange.…
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Provident Financial Group (PFG) has revealed that it is being investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), with the regulator looking into issues including whether the firm carried out proper affordability checks before lending to borrowers. The FCA says that it will look at the ‘affordability and sustainability’ of loans made in the year to…
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Latest date from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has shown that guarantor loans were the most complained-about product during the three months period between October to December 2020. The new figures mean that Guarantor loans have overtaken Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) as the most complained about product that the Financial Ombudsman Service adjudicates on. Complaints…
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Over two-fifths (44%) of UK adults who used a Buy Now Pay Later scheme (BNPL) to fund their Christmas shopping are now concerned about their ability to repay, according to the latest findings by comparethemarket.com. Worryingly, one-fifth (20%) are unable to meet these repayments without having to take on more debt, reflecting the concern that these…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned that up to 4,000 financial services companies were at a ‘heightened risk’ of collapse even before the second wave of coronavirus struck. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the results of its coronavirus financial resilience surveys. The surveys were sent to solo-regulated firms to inform the FCA…
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Credit Connect has published its second annual Credit & Collections Technology company power list for 2020. The power listed is a round-up of the most prominent innovating companies within credit and collections technology. Within the list, Credit Connect has identified the top 20 ‘Premier’ innovators highlighting the achievements and successes of the top-performing companies. The…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for December 2020 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,688.5 billion at the end of October 2020. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £60,580 and per adult was £31,867, around 109.1% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
Read moreMorses Club has seen pre-tax profits hit due to the coronavirus pandemic, saying a decline in customer numbers during the six months to August 29 had been considerably steeper than expected. Restrictions on lending to new customers in place from March until mid-July meant it saw 25,000 fewer new customers. The company has also seen…
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Which? is calling for Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) firms like Klarna and Clearpay to be fully regulated to provide greater protection for consumers, as new research from the consumer champion finds concerning industry practices encourage people to spend more than they planned to. The consumer champion’s findings show that these slickly designed, easy-to-access credit…
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