Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Energy suppliers will undergo financial stress testing from January to measure their resilience against a range of scenarios in a raft of new measures announced by Ofgem which aims to boost financial resilience in the energy sector. Ofgem says that where stress testing reveals weaknesses, the regulator will agree an improvement plan for companies to address any concerns, particularly where consumers are…
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Latest research by Cifas reveals 1 in 13 UK adults have been involved in fraudulent conduct during the last year. Those aged between 16-34 were most likely to be involved, with more than 1 in 7 admitting to participating in being involved in at least one form of first-party fraud. The most common forms of…
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New research Opinium has found that 8% of retired people are concerned about being able to pay bills. The research found that 41% said being able to pay their bills in retirement was a realistic goal. Worryingly 8% did not think it was a realistic prospect, whilst 11% did not think it was realistic that…
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Millions of people in the UK are being put off accessing credit products because they fear a rejected application could harm their chances of a loan in the future, according to new analysis from Freedom Finance, one of the UK’s leading online consumer lending platforms. The research shows that more than one in 10 (11%)…
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Major banks have signed a new voluntary agreement that could see more shared banking hubs open in UK towns and villages. The agreement will see an independent assessment carried out by Link each time a branch is shut. These reviews could recommend a shared branch is opened, an ATM installed or a Post Office upgraded.…
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A careful Christmas is on the cards for nearly half the UK as people worry about possible Covid rule changes and shortages in the shops, new research* from financial services insight experts Consumer Intelligence shows. Its nationwide study found around one in three (31%) consumers say they are still being cautious while another 14% are…
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A third of UK small businesses are planning to make staff redundant over the next few months, rising to more than four in 10 in London, according to a new survey analysis by Moore UK. The research found that 33% of owner-managed businesses in the UK are planning to make redundancies now the safety net…
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Analysis from the New Economics Foundation (NEF) has found that half of UK families have seen their disposable incomes shrink in the last two years, with the poorest half of the population seeing their incomes squeezed by £110. The report also shows that the richest 5% are £3,300 a year better off. The analysis found…
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A new report by The Bank of England (BoE) says that Britain’s financial system is healthy enough to withstand a deep recession. The report found that major UK banks are strong enough to keep supporting households and businesses, even in severe scenarios. The Bank’s annual stress test found that the country’s eight biggest lenders would…
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Fintech, Paylink Solutions has hired Crispin Neads as Head of Development to drive product development and enhance its digital affordability applications for the financial services industry. Neads has decades’ experience of fintech after delivering transformation programmes and product development through previous technology leadership roles at Experian and Iress. He is now going to focus on…
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NatWest has been fined £264,772,619.95 following convictions for three offences of failing to comply with money laundering regulations. It was found that the bank failed to properly monitor the activities of jeweller Fowler Oldfield between November 2012 and June 2016. The Bradford-based jeweller deposited £365 million with the bank over a five-year period, including £264 million…
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Net lending via credit cards and personal loans is also set to end the year in negative territory, falling 0.7% on top of 2020’s 9.8% decline according to the latest EY ITEM Club for Financial Services Forecast. The lrnfingfigures equates to a £1.4bn fall in the stock of consumer credit, as households have made more repayments…
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UK net business borrowing is on course to fall sharply over 2021 as firms pay down existing debt far faster than predicted, according to the latest EY ITEM Club for Financial Services Forecast. The forecast estimates that net bank lending to UK businesses will fall to minus £1.6bn over 2021, following £35.5bn net being lent in 2020,…
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