Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
People in the UK lost £1.2bn to fraud in 2022, the equivalent of £2,300 every minute according to bank industry group UK Finance. UK Finance said around three million scams took place – slightly less than the previous year – with frauds involving payment cards being the most common. UK Finance said losses were not always…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out actions to improve the confidence of whistleblowers – including sharing further information with whistleblowers on how it’s acted on their information; improving the use of information provided by whistleblowers; and improving how it captures information from whistleblowers. This follows a qualitative survey of whistleblowers who had provided information to…
Read moreSelf-regulatory body, the Lending Standards Board (LSB), is urging firms to prepare for the financial struggles customers will face this year, as incomes are eaten away by the higher cost of everyday life. In its 2023/24 Business Plan released today, the LSB outlines how its areas of focus for the year will include financial resilience…
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A series of measures designed to reduce the risk of money laundering via the Post Office have been set out by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The regulator brought together partners including the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), industry and government to strengthen controls while seeking to ensure that legitimate customers can continue to use…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says that improved overdraft rules that reduced high fees for unarranged borrowing removed complex charging structures and helped consumers who were repeatedly using their overdrafts. Rules introduced in April 2020 meant that banks couldn’t charge more for unarranged overdrafts than for arranged ones. They also had to remove high fees…
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The Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator have launched a fresh push to encourage more competition in banking services via third-party firms. As co-chairs of the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee, the regulators issued a joint statement saying: “While significant progress has been made, there is more to be done to deliver the full…
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The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has fined Carlos Abarca, the former Chief Information Officer (CIO) of TSB Bank, £81,620 for breaching PRA Senior Manager Conduct Rule 2 as he failed to take reasonable steps to ensure that TSB adequately managed and supervised appropriately its outsourcing arrangement in relation to its 2018 IT migration programme. The…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its business plan setting out its top priorities for the year ahead. The plan includes the introduction of consumer duty and reforming the UK’s listing regime. The FCA says that the programme aims to achieve better outcomes for consumers and markets, in line with its three-year strategy. Last…
Read moreMore than half of people in he UK say that they have been victims of a financial scam, with wealthier people most likely to have been targeted, according to the new research from Saltus. The latest Saltus Wealth Index Report surveyed more than 2,000 people in the UK and discovered that 51% had been victim to a financial…
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Sub-prime lender Amigo Loans is to be liquidated after months of trying to come up with a rescue plan ended in failure. The company said Amigo said it would stop lending with immediate effect and will be placed into an orderly wind-down, with all surplus assets transferred to the creditors of its compensation scheme. Those owed compensation…
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Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) Chief Executive Abby Thomas says the ombudsman would like to improve its communications with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help the regulator respond quicker to emerging issues in the financial sector. The Chief Ombudsman told the Treasury Select Committee that while she is satisfied with the level of powers the…
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Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) against Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) firms have jumped 36% over the last three years according to research by Creditspring. The research found that 220 complaints were made against BNPL firms during 2022, compared to 208 in the previous year and 162 in 2020. Creditspring says that the…
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The government has announced its intention to regulate interest-free Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) products. The government consulted on policy options to deliver a proportionate approach to regulation in October 2021, followed by a consultation response in June 2022. It is now consulting on the proposed draft legislation that will bring BNPL into Financial Conduct Authority regulation.…
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