Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Bank of England has cut interest rates by a quarter point to 3.75% in response to a weakening labour market and slowing inflation. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 5-4 in favour of the cut, marking the first reduction since August. Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage and Housing Policy at the Building Societies Association, said…
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Intermediaries think government policy is the number one risk to the mortgage market, according to research from Black & White Bridging. Black & White Bridging polled one hundred intermediaries active in the bridging sector and asked them to rank risks to the mortgage market, risks that included Bank of England base rate decisions, consumer affordability,…
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UK Finance has forecasted that overall gross lending is set to rise by 4% to £300 billion in 2026. In its Mortgage Market Forecast for 2026, data shows lending for house purchases grew by 22% this year to £176 billion, with a notable spike in activity in advance of the stamp duty increase in April.…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced new plans to reform the mortgage market to widen access to affordable mortgages for consumers. The four areas of focus include simplifying mortgage rules for first-time buyers and underserved consumers; reviewing retirement interest-only requirements to make them more accessible; improving innovation and disclosure rules and working with…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew in October 2025 by 6% compared with the same month in 2024. In the ten months to October 2025, new business in this market was 5% higher than in the same period in 2024. The credit card and…
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Latest Bank of England figures show that mortgage lending recorded its strongest quarterly jump in five years in the third quarter of 2025, with gross advances rising 36.9% to £80.4 billion. The increase marks the sharpest quarterly gain since 2020 amid a renewed surge in the UK property market. The data showed that the outstanding…
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UK Finance has released its latest Household Finance Review, which showed that mortgage lending activity returned to growth in Quarter 3 (Q3), following a quieter second quarter caused by many transactions having been brought forward ahead of Stamp Duty changes in April. Refinancing also increased, with volumes up nearly 50 per cent year‑on‑year as more…
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Latest Bank of England data has shown that mortgage debt fell back to £4.3 billion in October, after a rise to £5.2 billion in September.. The data shows that gross lending slightly decreased in October, to £24.5bn from £24.8bn, with gross repayments increasing by £1.5 billion to £22.1 billion in October. Net mortgage approvals for…
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New data from UK Finance has found that later life loans rose 18.4 per cent with 39,950 loans taken out in Quarter 3 (Q3). The value of lending was £6.5 billion, which was up 24.7 per cent compared with the same quarter a year previously. There were 6,040 new lifetime mortgages advanced in Q3, up…
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Paragon Bank has announced that it has strengthened its mortgages division with the appointment of Simon Glass as Head of Mortgage Operations. Glass will head up Paragon Bank’s operations team with a focus on delivering good customer outcomes, reporting into Mortgage Lending Director, Lisa Steele. He leads Paragon’s buy-to-let underwriting, completions and customer relationship teams…
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The Bank of England has held the base rate at 4% which affects a wide range of consumer loan agreements from credit card to mortgage payments. Commenting on the MPC’s decision not to change the Bank Rate from 4%, Andrew Gall, Head of Savings and Economics at the Building Societies Association (BSA) said “Many aspiring homebuyers…
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A coalition of businesses and charities have outlined a series of demands for urgent reform to unlock home ownership for millions of renters. Following a summit in London on 29th October, the group have sent a joint letter to the Chancellor ahead of the Autumn Budget, urging reforms that would ensure renters’ payment history is…
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Rapid rent increases since the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) has been frozen mean the gap between the support low-income private tenants receive and the 30th percentile of local rents is already at 14 per cent (£104 a month for a typical two-bedroom property). This affordability gap is expected to reach a record 17 per cent…
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