Bank of England tightens affordability and bad loan rules

28th June 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Bank of England has announced that it will force banks to find a further £11.4 billion in the next 18 months to beef up their finances against the risk of bad loans. Banks will have to set aside £5.7bn in the next six months in case future economic shocks mean some borrowers cannot keep…

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Digital change raising the bar for lenders

28th June 2017 Consumer Collections |

Digital change is radically altering consumer expectations in the mortgage market and “raising the bar for what borrowers expect from their home buying and owning experience,” according to research published today by the Council of Mortage Lendrs (CML). Launched at the CML Mortgage Tech UK conference in London, the research Digital Change and Mortgage Borrowers says that technology…

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Affordability is an opportunity to improve the customer experience

27th June 2017 Consumer Collections |

Research from Callcredit Information Group has revealed that unstructured data (48%), such as social media, socio-economic data (48%) including age, and socio-demographic (42%) data, such as geography, are at the top of the list of data sources that experience leaders are accessing to optimise the customer journey. The findings, which form part of Callcredit’s New…

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Consumer credit grows by 5.1% in May

27th June 2017 Consumer Collections |

The British Bankers Association (BBA) latest data from the high street banks shows that consumer credit growth was 5.1% in May, compared with 6.4% in the previous month. Gross mortgage borrowing totalled £13.3 billion in May. Net mortgage borrowing was 2.4% higher than a year ago. Eric Leenders, BBA Managing Director for Retail Banking said: “This…

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Half of UK consumers choose a retailer based on loyalty points scheme

23rd June 2017 Consumer Collections |

New research by Ubamarket has revealed the true extent of the UK’s love-hate relationship with retail loyalty schemes. The white label supermarket app commissioned a survey of more than 2,000 UK adults, uncovering that the majority of consumers (59%) are signed up to at least three different loyalty schemes. Moreover, almost half (46%) of shoppers…

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Gross mortgage lending rises by 12% in May

22nd June 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £20.1 billion in May. This is a 12% increase on both April last month and on May last year, in which £17.9 billion was advanced. The CML’s buy-to-let forecast for 2017 and 2018 has been revised down from previous expectations at the end…

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Provident hit by shortage of debt collectors

22nd June 2017 Consumer Collections |

 Provident Financial has published its latest financial results and states that a fall in the number of debt collection agents at its home credit division will weigh on profits for the rest of the financial year. The company said a reorganisation of the business had led to a rise in the number of self employed part-time…

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Credit industry reaction to the Queen’s speech

22nd June 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Credit industry has responded to the Queen’s speech. Here is an overview of the some of the main talking points: Financial Guidance and Claims Bill Citizens Advice Chief Executive Gillian Guy said “The right guidance can be an essential part of a secure financial future. We help people with 1.7 million money queries a…

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Callcredit acquires Spanish fraud and AML software solutions business

21st June 2017 Consumer Collections |

Callcredit Information Group has acquired the Spanish Confirma group of companies, comprising Confirma Sistemas and Soluciones Confirma, which specialise in fraud prevention and anti-money laundering (AML) software solutions. The acquisition, sees Callcredit take a majority shareholding in the Madrid- headquartered business. Callcredit entered the Spanish market in 2015 and has been developing its business and…

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Mortgage sales rise by £3.4 billion in May

21st June 2017 Consumer Collections |

Mortgage sales for the UK increased by £3.4 billion in May, up 25.4% on the previous month, according to Equifax Touchstone analysis of the intermediary marketplace. Buy-to-let figures jumped 26.1% (£0.55 billion) to £2.7 billion, with residential up 25.2% (£2.88 billion) to £14.3 billion. Overall, mortgage sales for the month grew to £17.0 billion. Every…

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N Brown to close retail outlets

21st June 2017 Consumer Collections |

Home Catalogue Specialist N Brown has announced that it will be closing up to five Simply Be and Jacamo dual-fascia stores. This decision takes into account weak high-street footfall, both current and predicted, together with significant future business rate increases for some stores. Together, these five stores contributed £5million revenue but accounted for the entire £2million…

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Bank of Mum and Dad could fund nearly half a million home buyers

21st June 2017 Consumer Collections |

Legal & General’s annual Bank of Mum and Dad survey has found that parents unlocking the equity in the family home could help to put nearly 450,000 young people into their first property. The survey found that this year 4% of homeowners over the age of 55 were considering releasing equity from their home. The…

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Smaller mortgage lenders show the strongest growth in Mortgage report

20th June 2017 Consumer Collections |

 The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has published data showing mortgage lending by CML members in 2016. The tables show members’ gross mortgage lending in the latest calendar year and balances outstanding at the end of 2016, rounded to the nearest £100 million and ranked on the same basis. This means that the very smallest…

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