Two thirds of consumers are upbeat about their personal finances

28th July 2017 Consumer Collections |

Consumers are shrugging off concerns about a spending squeeze with increased confidence in their personal finances, according to the latest Lloyds Bank Spending Power Report. The latest poll – which saw Ipsos MORI survey 2,000 people with bank accounts across the UK – comes amid a raft of economic data highlighting the challenges faced by…

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Consumer credit grows by 1.9% in June

27th July 2017 Consumer Collections |

The latest high street banking data from UK Finance shows that consumer credit growth was 1.9% in June, compared with 2.1% in the previous month. Gross mortgage borrowing totalled £13.0 billion in June. Net mortgage borrowing was 2.6% higher than a year ago. Eric Leenders, Head of Personal at UK Finance said “June saw consumer borrowing from high…

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Loyal mortgage holders faced with £400 average price hikes  

27th July 2017 Consumer Collections |

Loyal customers who don’t remortgage after their fixed term deal can pay £400 extra a year, Citizens Advice research reveals. The penalty affects people who are rolled onto their bank’s standard variable interest rate at the end of a fixed term mortgage deal. The Citizens Advice research finds that people who remain on the standard…

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Lloyds agrees redress scheme for mortgage arrears customers

27th July 2017 Consumer Collections |

Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds) has agreed to set up a redress scheme for mortgage customers who incurred fees after they fell behind with their mortgage payments. Following engagement with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Lloyds acknowledged that when customers fell into arrears, they did not always do enough to understand customers’ circumstances to be confident…

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FCA announces proposals to extend the Senior Managers Regime

26th July 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published proposals to extend the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) to almost all regulated firms. The new regime will essentially replace the Approved Persons Regime. The aim of the new regime is to reduce harm to consumers and strengthen market integrity by making individuals more accountable for their…

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Finance complaints to Motor Ombudsman increase

26th July 2017 Consumer Collections |

The number of complaints about motor finance products has grown in the second quarter of this year, according to the Motor Ombudsman.The Motor Ombudsman, the automotive dispute resolution provider, has reported a 13% increase in the level of contacts handled by its team of legally-trained adjudicators in the second quarter of 2017 compared to the first three…

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BCCA and CFA announce merger plans

25th July 2017 Consumer Collections |

The board directors of the BCCA and the Consumer Finance Association have released a joint statement announcing their intentions to merge both associations. The statement read “The short-term lending sector has changed radically over the last few years in areas such as regulation and lending culture. It is time for a change in sector representation.…

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Provident cites restructuring of Consumer Credit Division for profit decline

25th July 2017 Consumer Collections |

Provident Financial has announced its Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2017. Here is an overview of the group highlights from the report: Dividend maintained recognising the group’s medium-term growth opportunities First-half adjusted profit before tax reduced by 22.6% to £115.3m (2016: £148.9m) and adjusted basic earnings per share down by 22.6% to 60.3p…

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Interest rate rise would cost households £3.4 billion

25th July 2017 Consumer Collections |

An interest rate rise of just 0.5% would cost households an extra £3.4 billion in interest payments in just the first year according to analysis by Moore Stephens. Bank of England data shows UK households are currently paying £39.2 billion in interest payments on debt that is likely to be affected immediately by an interest rate…

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Gatehouse Bank announces two new senior appointments

24th July 2017 Consumer Collections |

Gatehouse Bank has announced two new senior appointments. Tim Blease is joining Gatehouse as Chief Operating Officer and Sharron Harvey is joining as Executive Vice President, Head of Human Resources. Blease will be contributing to Gatehouse’s new strategy including its move into retail mortgages. His previous roles include New Business Strategy and Innovation Director at…

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Credit Scorer Aire announces high profile partnership agreements

21st July 2017 Consumer Collections |

Credit Scoring specialist Aire has announced the closing of a $5million funding round, led by Sunstone Capital alongside White Star. In conjunction with closing the latest round of funding, Aire today also announces two new high-profile partnerships across different sub-sectors of consumer credit: Aire is embarking on projects with the pioneering financial services company Zopa…

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TSB to launch iris recognition

21st July 2017 Consumer Collections |

TSB is set to introduce iris recognition to its mobile banking app – the first bank in Europe to commit to provide the technology – as the Bank’s high-tech transformation gathers pace. Customers with a Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+ smartphone will be able, from September 2017, to unlock their TSB mobile banking app using…

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Gross mortgage lending rises by 9% in June

21st July 2017 Consumer Collections |

UK Finance estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £22.1 billion in June. This is 9% higher than May’s lending total of £20.3 billion, and 3% higher than the £21.5 billion lent in June last year. Gross mortgage lending for the second quarter of 2017 was therefore an estimated £60.3 billion. This is a 3% increase on the…

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