Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Latest statistics from the Insolvency Service have shown that Northern Irish personal and business insolvencies numbers decreased in June. In June 2021 there were 163 personal insolvencies in which was 40% lower than June 2020 and 15% lower than June 2019. The figures consisted of 130 IVAs, 19 DROs and 14 bankruptcies. There were 11 business insolvencies…
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A huge shift towards carrying out everyday tasks online for millions of people during the pandemic has led to a devastating surge in scams, according to Which? analysis of Action Fraud figures. The rearch found that in the year to April 2021, 413,553 instances of fraud were reported to Action Fraud – an increase of…
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Older homeowners received a £1.94 billion property wealth boost in the first six months of the year as the equity release market continued its lockdown recovery, new data from equity release adviser Key shows. The number of equity release plans taken out rose by 3% in the six months to June 30th to 20,445 compared…
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The Bank of England’s quarterly Credit Conditions Survey saw respondents say that the length of interest-free periods on credit cards, for both balance transfers and purchases, had increased in the previous three months, with further increases expected in the next three months. Mortgage availability also increased in the three months to the end of May,…
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The Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) has announced the appointment of Paul Smith as Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Smith replaces Michelle Thorp. Smith has enjoyed a long career in UK Financial Services, operating to Board level with a broad span of managerial responsibility. Commercially oriented with a strong track record of delivering results, Paul has…
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The Bank of England’s latest Financial Stability Report, released this week, points to the particular vulnerability of the SME sector as the economy emerges from Covid-19 restrictions. The twice-yearly reports, compiled by the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee, has warned about increased corporate indebtedness, in particular amongst smaller firms with weaker balance sheets. As the economy…
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Just, the enforcement market integrator, has announced the appointment of Josh Yorke MCICM to their operations division. Yorke joins the team as Head of Supplier Management bringing with him an array of skills spanning strategy, performance management, operational leadership and P&L management on behalf of a big six utility company. Commenting on the appointment Natalie…
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Conversational AI and customer engagement orchestration specialist Webiohas launched Propensity Studio, the company’s latest digital debt collection offering. Propensity Studio leverages Webio’s credit and collections expertise and conversational AI platform to enhance how businesses engage with their customers by predicting individual business outcomes throughout their messaging conversations. Designing fully personalised journeys for all customer types,…
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Consumer credit technology and outsourced services provider EQ Credit Services (EQCS), part of EQ (Equiniti Group) has announced that it has recently onboarded a raft of new standby servicing contracts, bringing its portfolio (for standby alone) to 100 different lending facilities. The company’s standby services division now protects more than 50 active lending clients…
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Retail banks have been issued a warning by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) about continuing weaknesses and failings surrounding their financial crime controls. The letter, which was penned by David Geale, the Director of Retail Banking & Payments Supervision for the FCA, and sent to banking industry chiefs across the UK, was issued in May…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has criticised Provident Financial’s plans to cap compensation for customers of its failed doorstep lending arm,. The regulator has also said it would not oppose the lender in court. Provident has set aside £50 million under a scheme of arrangement to reimburse customers who were mis-sold loans. The FCA said…
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Ofwat has published its survey on consumer finances during the pandemic, showing a decline in mental health correlated with those financially struggling. It found more households were worse off in the past year than previously and many anticipated that to continue in the coming 12 months Ofwat has also set out a number of actions…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has made a commitment to be a more, innovative, adaptive and assertive regulator. The commitment reflects the FCA’s Business Plan for 2021/22, the first annual plan since Nikhil Rathi joined the FCA as Chief Executive in October 2020. Rathi said “The FCA must continue to become a forward-looking, proactive regulator.…
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