Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined HSBC Bank £63,946,800 for failings in its anti-money laundering (AML) processes. HSBC used automated processes to monitor hundreds of millions of transactions a month to identify possible financial crime. However, the FCA found that three key parts of HSBC’s transaction monitoring systems showed serious weaknesses over a period…
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New FICO data has suggested that the tide might be turning on consumer finances with average card spend falling and early missed payment rates rising as furloughs finish FICO says that though its, analysis of UK card trends for October 2021, says that it appears that with the first signs that lockdown savings — which…
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Many people with significant amounts of outstanding borrowing will be worrying about the double whammy of inflation and higher interest rates following the Bank of England’s decision to raise the policy rate. According to StepChange Debt Charity, higher interest rates will push up the cost of borrowing while being unlikely to feed through to relief…
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The Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS), a not-for-profit company providing the UK’s first central vulnerability database, has partnered with Data On Demand, an alternative consumer data specialist that aims to improve service providers’ engagement with customers. The partnership will mean that the Vulnerability Registration Service’s database will feed into Data On Demand’s existing data insight to…
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Almost a quarter (23%) of UK families with children living at home are set to spend less on Christmas compared to last year, as the rising costs of living and household bills, alongside the ongoing effects of the pandemic, hit household budgets. According to comparethemarket.com’s latest Household Financial Confidence Tracker,two-fifths (41%) of families feel their financial wellbeing…
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UK Finance has announced that Richard Fearon, Chief Executive Officer of Leeds Building Society, has been appointed new chair of the UK Finance Mortgages Product and Service Board. Lloyd Cochrane, Head of Mortgages, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), steps down after completing his two-year term. Michelle Andrews, Head of Buying a Home, HSBC, and Damian…
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Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that inflation hit 5.1% in the 12 months to November, exceeding forecasts of a 4.7% increase and driving the rate further beyond the Bank of England’s (BoE) 2% target. The rate up on the 4.2% recorded a month earlier and means inflation is now at its…
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Researchers from abrdn Financial Fairness Trust have issued a stark warning on the post-pandemic outlook for living standards in the UK following an extensive review of over 200 reports examining the impact of the pandemic. Although the macro-economic forecasts for the UK are comparatively positive, at a household level the situation is more mixed. The…
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Open banking provider, Yolt has announced a strategic partnership with The Digital Debt Resolution Agency (The Digital DRA) to harness open banking payment and data services to improve debt resolution in the UK. Yolt’s Account Information Service (AIS) and Payment Initiation Service (PIS) provided to The Digital DRA, will go live in January 2022 and…
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European investor and alternative asset manager in credit and real estate, Arrow Global, has announced the launch of Bergen Finance, a new dedicated bridging loan business dedicated to the UK short-term real estate lending market. Bergen Finance will seek to take advantage of a market that has grown by over 400% since 2013 to over…
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Eight out of ten (79%) small business owners surveyed are regularly losing sleep due to worries about the impact Covid-19 continues to have on their businesses, according to new research by Business Debtline. The Building back business: tackling small business debt in the wake of Covid-19 report indicates that many self-employed people and small businesses are…
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While company directors are generally protected by limited liability, recovery powers granted to HMRC in the Finance Act 2020 mean directors can face greater personal liability for tax debts held by the company in the event of insolvency. This has potentially huge ramifications for your clients if they intend to utilise an insolvency procedure to…
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A parliamentary committee has published a report on the draft Online Safety Bill calling for dangerous online paid-for adverts, such as those promoting scams, to be included within the Bill. A coalition of consumer groups, charities, policing leads and financial services industry bodies, including Which?, UK Finance, Martin Lewis and MoneySavingExpert, the Personal Investment Management…
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