Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Delayed payments and insolvencies are predicted to rise in the consumer durables retail sector this year, reveals leading trade credit insurer Atradius. In its latest Industry Trends report on the retail sector, Atradius emphasises the importance of maintaining close working relationships with retailers, and acquiring real-time insight, as the key to navigating the next six months. Increasing…
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Nearly half of consumers (42%) are using loyalty schemes to combat the cost of living, according to market research by loyalty eWallet and Swapi. This research has shone a light on the current consumer loyalty trends and the reliance on retail loyalty schemes to help combat rising costs. This was mirrored in the amount of money…
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Middle market businesses have hit the brakes on crucial people and business investment as inflationary pressure, recessionary fears, wage pressures and staff shortages all converge to reduce confidence. RSM UK’s latest Middle Market Business Index (MMBI), the first economic index to focus solely on middle market businesses in the UK, showed that fewer firms (41%)…
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Global credit intelligence company, Pepper Advantage has announced the appointment of Anna Agafonova as Group Chief Finance Officer. Formerly Group CFO at SWIFT, Agafonova was responsible for the execution of SWIFT’s business strategy and priorities, driving the company’s growth and performance, digital transformation, including robotics and machine learning, and leading a team of 200+ finance,…
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Credit information provider, CRIF has announced that it has partnered with invoice financing provider Penny to utilise open banking to enable invoice payments. The new service utilises CRIF’s Credit Passport®, which uses open banking data to provide a real-time, secure way of speeding up the decisioning process for lenders and providing transparency and advice for…
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The value of UK business loans written off by banks nearly doubled in the last quarter of 2021, rising 87% from £190 million in the third quarter to £356 million in the fourth quarter according to new research by ACP Altenburg Advisory. The research report found that write-offs of loans were subdued throughout Covid but…
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Ahead of the Government’s plans to announce cost of living support measures to mitigate the impacts of rising prices, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is urging that the Government tackles the cost of living crisis at root. Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Chair Martin McTague said “The cost of living crisis starts with a cost…
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New figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA) have indicated that mortgage lending by building societies in the first three months of this year was on a par with lending in the same period last year when the Stamp Duty holiday was in operation. Both lending and approvals were higher in January-March 2022 than they…
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New research by Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found that inflation for the poorest households is likely to increase even faster than for the richest, and could hit 14% in October. The IFS analysis incorporating an £800 increase to Ofgem’s tariff cap in October shows that the pattern of poorer households being hit harder…
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Water regulator, Ofwat has published new guidelines for water companies to help household customers across England and Wales pay bills, get help and repay debts. The new guidelines cover several areas, including requiring companies to: Offer more flexible payment options for customers on irregular incomes and zero-hours contracts; Talk sensitively with customers struggling to pay…
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Equity release plan sales surged by 21% as the value of equity released increased by 30% as older homeowners released an average of £111,500 in property wealth in the first three months of the year, data from equity release adviser Key Later Life Finance shows. Plan sales surged by 21.4% in the first three months…
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The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has announced its plans that will see around 400 more financial firms provide Confirmation of Payee (CoP). This essential fraud protection service will increase coverage from 92% of transactions made via Faster Payments (FPS) and CHAPS (when you make a payment transfer from one account to another) to 99% worth…
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New research by UK Finance has found that the stock of outstanding interest-only mortgages fell by 15 per cent in 2021, compared with the position at the end of 2020. The concerted industry strategy to manage down the size and risk profile of the interest-only book has seen it reduce by over two thirds since…
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