Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Wonga has posted pre-tax losses of nearly £65m for 2016 but says it is expected to return to profit in 2017. The annual report shows revenue was £76.7m, up from £65.2m. Wonga has said that it is on track to return to profitability in 2017, now that its sponsorship of football team Newcastle United had ended. The group…
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HSBC is testing a new smartphone nudge app which will help people track what they spend money on and sends out spending limits alerts. Customers can add different back accounts from up to 21 money sources and keep track of all their balances in one app. The app is being trialled with 10,000 customers and will…
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Financial fraud losses of £366.4 million in the first half of 2017 were 8 per cent lower year-on-year, figures from UK Finance show. The data, which covers payment cards, remote banking and cheques, also shows that the industry prevented over £750 million of fraud during the same period, or 67 per cent of attempted fraud.…
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Paul Horlock has been appointed as the Chief Executive of the UK’s new payment system operator, which has been established to develop the capability and capacity of the UK’s retail payment systems, which between them process over £6.4 trillion pounds of payments every year. Horlock has worked in the banking sector for over 15 years,…
Read moreCitizens Advice Cymru has called on the Welsh Government to ban letting agent fees in Wales. New analysis from the charity reveals that renters in Wales pay at least £3 million a year in fees when they move into a privately rented home, with charges averaging £178. The total figure could be even higher as…
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Among growing concerns about high consumer debt levels in the UK, a new study finds that almost a third of credit card and personal loan debt – up to £35bn – is sitting with people who are deemed to have low financial maturity. Aire, which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to help lenders provide applicants…
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UK finance has published its latest mortgage lending data estimating that overall gross mortgage lending in August was £24.2bn, of which £15.1bn was lent by high street banks. Accounting for seasonal factors, this figure is in the same ball park as monthly lending over the course of 2017 according to it’s latest lending figures. House…
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The FCA has rejected calls to cap interest rates charged on credit cards saying that planned measures to help people avoid excessive debt should be given time to work. Speaking at Reuters Financial Regulation Summit Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority said “We are not there at the moment,” said in response…
Read moreThe Bank of England’s (BoE) Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has said that lenders are creating pockets of risk by placing too much weight on recent benign conditions. In a statement from its policy meeting on 20 September 2017, the BoE said that the overall credit quality of consumer credit has improved significantly since the financial crisis.…
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Patrick Casey has been appointed Registrar of Credit Unions in the Central Bank of Ireland. Casey is currently Head of Resolution in the Central Bank. He will be responsible for the regulation and supervision of the credit union sector in Ireland and succeeds the previous Registrar Anne Marie McKiernan who has recently become Ireland’s representative…
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RBS has announced its plans to postpone the introduction of cut-price credit cards and the Labour Party has pledged to back legislation limiting the amount of interest that can be charged on credit card debt. Key industry groups have responded to the developments in the consumer credit landscape. Steve McNicholas, Managing Director – Credit and…
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Beverley Building Society has appointed Karl Elliott as its new Chief Executive Officer. Elliott joins from financial services mutual OneFamily in Brighton where he was Marketing Director, having previously worked for Harrogate based Engage Mutual for 15 years. Brian Young, Chair of Beverley Building Society said: “This announcement concludes the board’s thorough process to recruit Karl as…
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Financial services software must become easier to use and more useful to customers in the face of the new Revised Payments Services Directive 2 (PSD2) regulation according to financial software firm Copernicus. Allen Jones, Managing Director at financial software experts Copernicus believes that ease of use and practicality are principles that need to be embraced…
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