Unsecured household lending fell in the last quarter

12th January 2018 Consumer Collections |

Unsecured credit to UK households contracted in Q4 2017, the Bank of England’s (BoE) quarterly Credit Conditions Survey has found. Lenders also said they intended to tighten criteria for the unsecured credit sector, after an increase in default rates during Q4. Overall demand for unsecured lending products excluding credit cards fell during the period, for…

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Second charge mortgage new business sees growth in November

12th January 2018 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show a growth in new business of second charge mortgages in November 2017. Commenting on the new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Head of Consumer and Mortgage Finance at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said: “The second charge mortgage…

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Consumer finance increases by 5% in November

11th January 2018 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show consumer finance new business grew in November by 5%, compared with the same month in 2016. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew by 3% compared with November 2016, while retail store and online credit new business increased by 13%. Second charge…

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Consumer lending not driven by subprime borrowers

9th January 2018 Consumer Collections |

Rapid growth in Britain’s consumer credit has been driven by borrowing by people with good credit scores, not subprime lending, according to research the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Bank of England (BOE). Unsecured consumer lending grew at near double-digit rates in 2016 and 2017, and concern that lenders had overestimated their borrowers’ creditworthiness led…

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Universal Credit leads to council tenant rent arrears

9th January 2018 Consumer Collections |

Universal Credit has already left more than 100 council tenants across Nuneaton and Bedworth owing almost £120,000 in rent. According to borough council figures,  there were 156 Local Authority (LA) tenants claiming Universal Credit (UC) and, of these, 126 were in arrears with their rent. The total amount of money owed was £118,000 and 60 per cent…

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Octane Capital appoints new Credit Manager

5th January 2018 Consumer Collections |

Bridging lender Octane Capital has announced that Graham Macaulay has been appointed as Senior Credit Manager. Macaulay will report to Matt Smith, Octane Capital’s Director of Credit. Matt Smith commented on the appointment “Graham’s understanding of risk is superb and to have him on board is a significant coup, not to mention a great start…

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Consumer credit levels ‘remain a concern’ despite borrowing slowdown

5th January 2018 Consumer Collections |

The rate of UK consumer borrowing continued to slow in November according to the Bank of England as it seeks to slow down the growth of the personal loan market.The report shows a growth in consumer credit of 9.1 percent in the year to November 2017. Outstanding balances for consumer credit now stand at over £205.8 billion. In response…

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October gross mortgage lending estimated to have risen by 9%

4th January 2018 Consumer Collections |

UK Finance has published its latest lending figures. Findings from the figure include: Mortgage activity has been building through the year, helped by increasing numbers of first-time buyers.  We estimate gross mortgage lending in October was £23.1 billion, nine per cent higher than a year earlier, with 60 per cent of all new lending provided by…

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Mortgage possession orders rise by 26%

4th January 2018 Consumer Collections |

New data released by the Ministry of Justice indicates that the number of mortgage possession claims and orders made in county courts has increased in the last 6 months. Sellhousefast.uk, who help homeowners with the prospect of repossession, decided to investigate this issue, to determine which local authorities in England and Wales are most at…

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Government outlines plans to make the debt rulings process fairer

2nd January 2018 Consumer Collections |

Plans to protect people from unresolved debts which can damage credit ratings without them knowing have been outlined by the Government. It has launched a consultation on how County Court Judgments (CCJs) are issued after concerns were raised that some rogue companies were deliberately sending claims to consumers using incorrect addresses. Credit ratings can be…

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Mortgage sales increase by £637m in November

21st December 2017 Consumer Collections |

Mortgage sales in the UK rose by 4.1% (£637.4 million) in November, according to Equifax Touchstone analysis of the intermediary marketplace. Year-on-year sales were up 3.0% (£470.1 million). Buy-to-let sales for the month jumped 10.8% (£334.1 million) on October. Residential figures were also up, increasing 2.5% (£303.3 million) on the previous month. The majority of…

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Two in five expect Brexit to leave them worse off

19th December 2017 Consumer Collections |

Online research from Equifax has revealed that 39% of Brits expect Brexit to negatively affect how they access and manage their finances. The survey, conducted by YouGov, also highlighted the younger generations’ pessimism about Brexit with over half (56%) of 18-24 year olds believing exiting the EU will make it more difficult to access and…

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Second charge mortgage new business grew in October

13th December 2017 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) have shown that new business figures for the second charge mortgage market have continued to grow. Fiona Hoyle, Head of Consumer and Mortgage Finance at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said “The second charge mortgage market reported growth in October, with new business up…

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