CCTA View

A key theme for the CCTA in 2017-18 will be ‘Access to Credit and Funding’.  It will be a central theme of our conference in November and our engagement with the regulator and policy makers throughout the autumn and into 2018. Put very simply, unless ‘access’ is maintained and safeguarded, the regulator will have failed — consumers will have lost …

This week, consumer body, Which? has reported that bank branch closures are occurring at a faster rate than ever, with 703 set to shut this year. The report reveals that 461 branches closed in 2015, while 583 shut last year, bringing it to a total of 1,747 in three years. Part of these closures are formed by Barclays who advised 62 branches …

The easiest way to understand what the FCA wants to see on creditworthiness and affordability is to look at Table 1 on Page 7 of the Consultation Paper published this morning. This contains a schematic for ‘profitable and affordable’ lending (good) versus ‘profitable but unaffordable’ lending (bad).  The FCA wants to see more of the former and less of the …

The FCA starts by giving itself a big regulatory pat on the back for saving 760,000 consumers some £150 million thanks to its actions on High Cost Credit and in particular the introduction of the payday price cap.  As expected, it has decided to keep the cap in place in its current form and carry out another review in three …

Hot on the heals of Andrew Bailey’s speech, two announcements from the Bank of England revealed its concern about personal borrowing levels and the impact they could have on the nation’s economic prospects more generally. First, the Bank’s June Financial Stability Report identified consumer lending as a “pocket of risk” and instructed banks to hold an extra £11.4bn in ‘countercyclical …

Away from the chaos and confusion of Westminster, the regulator delivered a welcome dose of clarity in a thoughtful speech to the BBA retail banking conference on 29 June (the last such to a BBA conference following the body’s official integrated into UK Finance). There were two passages of particular note to the credit industry.  First, on the High Cost …

After a brief period of relative calm and respite for the Government, things have turned precarious again.  The announcement by Labour last week that it will not be supporting the Government’s flagship ‘Withdrawal from the European Union’ Bill at Second Reading in the Commons raises the very real prospect of defeat for the Government and, quite possibly, another General Election …

Our second CCTA podcast features Julian Knight MP and Chris Pond, two heavyweights on credit policy and politics. They talk to Greg Stevens about Breathing Space, Affordability, the new Minister for Financial Inclusion, runners and riders for the TSC chair, and other topics that will dominate the next 12-24 months in Parliament. Click the ‘play’ button on the media player …

Meanwhile, two announcements from the Bank of England were closely scrutinised for what they reveal about the state of lending markets and the nation’s economic prospects more generally. On Tuesday, the Bank’s monthly Financial Stability Report identified consumer lending as a “pocket of risk” and instructed banks to hold an extra £11.4bn in ‘countercyclical buffers’ to guard against related losses. …

Away from the drama at Westminster, Andrew Bailey delivered an important and revealing speech to the BBA retail banking conference on Thursday (the last such to a BBA conference following the body’s official integrated into UK Finance). The speech was notable for its intellectual breadth and insight into banking models, perhaps unsurprising given the speaker’s record of service in the …

As tiresome as it might be, it is hard to get off the topic of national politics at the moment.  Every day Parliament serves up new drama and a kaleidoscope of uncertainty. On the Conservative side, last week brought U-Turns on flagship economic policy led by Cabinet ministers, not the Prime Minister.  On the Labour side, intra-party rebellion followed by …

The Government hangs by a thread and Brexit will dominate the legislative agenda, but four new bills and Jeremy Corbyn will ensure that credit also looms large in parliamentary debate. After a week’s delay and much conjecture about its contents, Her Majesty finally delivered a ‘filleted’ Queen’s Speech on Wednesday.  The occasion was also stripped of much of its pomp …