FCA fines Vanquis £1.9m

27th February 2018 Alternative Consumer Lending |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it has imposed a fine of £1,976,000 on credit card lender, Vanquis, for failing to disclose the full price of an add-on product, called Repayment Option Plan (ROP).  The firm will also repay an estimated £168,781,000 in compensation which constitutes the amount of the charges not disclosed…

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FCA launch proposals on future of adviser register

27th February 2018 Arrears and Recoveries |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)  has announced that it has launched a consultation on proposals to make information available on a wider range of individuals at authorised firms. The FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) currently maintain a public Financial Services Register, “the FS Register”, of the firms that regulate and approve individuals. In July 2017, the…

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1% interest rate rise would add £10billion to the UK’s mortgage bill

27th February 2018 Arrears and Recoveries |

A one percent interest rate rise would add £10billion to the UK’s mortgage bill, ultimately adding £930 a year to the cost of servicing the average mortgage, according to new analysis from international property adviser, Savills. Four in 10 borrowers on variable rate mortgages would be first to feel the pain.  Their annual mortgage bill would…

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Card spending rises by 5.8%

26th February 2018 Arrears and Recoveries |

UK Finance has published its latest lending figures for 2018 that spending on cards was 5.8 percent cent higher than in January 2017, although higher repayment levels meant that the pace of borrowing saw little change, growing at 4.8 per cent annually. Commenting on the data, Eric Leenders, Managing Director, Personal Finance at UK Finance said: “January…

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Government to launch new laws to combat identity fraud for directors

23rd February 2018 Commercial Credit Management |

New laws to help protect company directors from identity fraud and personal harm will be introduced by the Government. The new laws will enable company directors to remove their personal addresses from the UK’s official company register on Companies House. Directors must still provide their business address as a legal requirement. This comes in response…

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ABCUL Chief Executive announces departure

22nd February 2018 Alternative Consumer Lending |

ABCUL (Association of British Credit Unions Limited) Chief Executive Mark Lyonette has announced that he will be leaving the association. Lyonette has been at the association for over 20 years. Under Lyonette’s leadership ABCUL has developed into a leading voice on issues such as financial inclusion and banking and payments reform.  The Association has secured successive…

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Consumers with unstable finances five times more likely to turn to high-cost credit

22nd February 2018 Alternative Consumer Lending |

UK households struggling on volatile incomes – for example those on zero-hour contracts or in part-time work – are five times more likely to turn to high-cost credit products such as rent to own and doorstep lending, new research from Citizens Advice shows. In its latest report, ‘Walking on Thin Ice’, the national charity says…

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UK Finance publishes regional mortgage lending figures

21st February 2018 Consumer Collections |

UK Finance has today published its figures on regional lending trends for the UK mortgage market in 2017 Q4. The figures reveal that in both Scotland and Northern Ireland, the number of first-time buyers and remortgagers have reached their highest levels for a decade. Meanwhile, the Welsh mortgage market continues to grow at a steady…

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FCA announces RegTech consultation

21st February 2018 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it has as launched a consultation on how technology can improve and facilitate regulatory compliance. The FCA regularly explores how technology can make our regulations more efficient and reduce the regulatory burden on firms. One of the ways we do this is through ‘TechSprints’ that bring together…

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Money Statistics: February 2018

20th February 2018 Arrears and Recoveries |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for February 2018: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.572 trillion at the end of December 2017. This is up from £1.512 trillion at the end of December 2016 – an extra £1,105.77 per UK adult. Per adult in the UK that’s an average…

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Aire announces new appointments

19th February 2018 Appointments |

Aire has announced two new senior appointments. Peter Jackson, a former CEO of Worldpay UK and current CEO of Paddy Power Betfair, took the post of Chairperson of Aire’s Board of Directors in October 2017. Previously, Jackson worked as Head of Global Innovation at Banco Santander and held senior positions at Lloyds and Halifax. His…

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Home ownership less likely for young adults than two decades ago

19th February 2018 Consumer Collections | #featured

Today’s young adults are much less likely to own their own home than those in their place one or two decades ago according to a new report IFS research which looks at how and why homeownership rates have changed for young adults over the past twenty years. The biggest decline in homeownership has been among…

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Lending Works and Credit Kudos announce Open Banking partnership

19th February 2018 Alternative Consumer Lending |

Credit Kudos and Lending Works have announced a partnership that creates one of the first commercial applications of the new Open Banking standard. Credit bureau Credit Kudos and Lending Works, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform, are partnering to enable customers to benefit from the UK’s Open Banking initiative, a secure way for banking customers to take…

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