Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The equity release market demonstrated resilience during Q3 2026, with new customer numbers and returning drawdown activity edging higher. According to the latest data from the Equity Release Council, total lending reached £591 million during Q3 2026, down 1% on the previous quarter (£597m). Overall customer numbers increased 1% to 13,611. The number of new…
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A third (30%) of the lending market is being underserved amid heightening scrutiny around affordability and compliance rules designed to raise the bar for how lending decisions are made, according to the latest market study from Chartis Research and LexisNexis® Risk Solutions. In line with HM Treasury’s push to expand access to affordable credit, nearly…
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Buy-to-let (BTL) lending rose 25% in value year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, according to figures from UK Finance. The data showed that 58,051 new buy-to-let loans were issued in the UK, worth £10.7 billion. Compared with Q2 2025, the number of loans increased by 20.6 per cent, while their total value rose by…
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Latest data from Moneyfacts shows the average product shelf-life fell to just 13 days in October, down from 14 days in September, as swap-rate fluctuations prompted lenders to reprice or withdraw products repeatedly. However, the figure remains well above the record low of just eight days recorded in April, following the initial impact of the US-Iran…
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A majority of first-time UK buyers now pay more towards their monthly mortgage bills than they used to pay in rent, the estate agent Hamptons has found. Last month 56% of first-time buyers said their monthly mortgage bills exceeded their previous rent, the highest proportion in at least a decade. They paid £39 more on…
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New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that FLA members across the asset finance, consumer finance and motor finance markets provided £110.8 billion of new lending in the eight months to August 2026, 4% higher than in the same period in 2025. Of this total 27.5 billion was provided to…
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The average interest rate for a new five-year fixed mortgage has reached 6%, the highest in three years, according to Moneyfacts latest analysis The data shows that the number of sub-5% fixed mortgage deals has plunged by 99%, from 1,494 since the start of September 2026 to just nine today. This figure excludes deals that…
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The average UK home now costs the equivalent of 7.3 times average earnings, down from 7.6 a year ago, according to new research from Lloyds. The ratio is now at its lowest level since 2015. Nationally, the average property price increased by +0.5% over the last year, to £299,131, while average earnings rose by +4.5%…
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EY has forecast that mortgage lending will grow 3.3% before slowing to 2.2% in 2027 as economic pressures and uncertainty are reducing borrowing demand. Mortgage lending remains comparatively resilient, after interest rates and inflation fell back last year, with growth expected to rise marginally from 3.0% in 2025 to 3.3% in 2026. However, rising unemployment,…
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Around one in five remortgage borrowers were considering variable and tracker mortgages in September while first-time buyers’ interest in variable rate products collapsed, new Money Facts analysis has found. The data in September, 21% of remortgage borrowers researching mortgages on Moneyfactscompare.co.uk were considering variable or tracker mortgages, compared with 14% in July. Whilst 7% of homemovers…
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The latest Bank of England Money & Credit statistics for August find that mortgage borrowing increased to £4.4 billion in August, from £4.1 billion in July, but remained below the previous 6-month average of £5.2 billion. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases – an indicator of future borrowing – decreased to 54,900 in August, down…
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Mortgage sales to borrowers with impaired credit histories have increased to their highest levels since 2008, according to analysis of FCA data provided following a FOI request by leading independent banking and credit advisory consultancy Broadstone. Through 2025, 10,089 mortgages were sold to borrowers with impaired credit histories, representing an increase of 23% from 8,183…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance providers advanced £10.3 billion of new credit in July 2026, 1% lower than in the same month in 2025. In the first seven months of 2026, new business in this market was 4% higher than in the same period in 2025.…
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