FCA Update

We are pleased to announce Alison Walters as our FCA keynote speaker for the CCTA 2026 Annual Conference. Presentation details pending.

Speaker Bio
Alison is responsible for the supervision and policy of consumer credit firms. She has worked at the FCA (and its predecessor the Financial Services Authority) for more than 25 years and contributed to strategic, policy and supervisory issues across general insurance, payments and retail and wholesale banking sectors and enforcement.

Insights, Trends and Redress Reform: An Update from the Financial Ombudsman Service

This session will provide an overview of the key trends the Financial Ombudsman Service has seen over the past year, including the issues driving consumer complaints and the insights these patterns offer into the wider financial services landscape.

It will also cover progress on the Modernising Redress reforms, outlining the changes being made to improve efficiency, consistency and transparency. Kevin will discuss how these reforms will help ensure the Ombudsman Service continues to provide a fair, effective and sustainable service for consumers and businesses in a changing environment.

Speaker Bio
Kevin Wright is an Ombudsman Leader at the Financial Ombudsman Service, where he leads on Consumer Credit Lending. With extensive senior leadership and ombudsman decision-making experience, he leads large operational teams and helps shape how the organisation approaches some of the most challenging and high‑impact financial disputes. Kevin has deep expertise in responsible lending, affordability, and complaint‑handling frameworks.

From insight to evidence:
Outcomes testing under Consumer Duty

The FCA’s latest review of outcomes monitoring sets a clear benchmark for firms under Consumer Duty. This keynote will explore the regulator’s examples of good and poor practice, from meaningful outcome definitions, thresholds, and governance to weaknesses such as high-level MI, overuse of operational MI and limited evidence of customer impact.

It will translate the findings into practical steps for consumer credit firms and show how Assure 4 uses regulatory expertise and AI-enabled technology to deliver scalable, consistent and audit ready outcomes testing across the customer lifecycle.

Speaker Bio
Matthew is the Managing Director of Technology Solutions at Square 4 Partners, where he leads the firm’s technology and innovation offering, helping clients harness emerging technologies to achieve strategic, operational, and regulatory objectives. Matthew specialises in regulatory risk, conduct regulation and the intersection of financial services and emerging technology.

He works with firms to navigate the rapidly evolving technology landscape by identifying, designing, and implementing innovative AI and digital solutions that enhance efficiency, strengthen governance, and deliver sustainable competitive advantage. Matthew collaborates closely with clients to develop tailored strategies that embed advanced technologies into their operating models, risk frameworks, and customer propositions in a practical, commercially effective, and compliant way.

As Co-Founder of Square 4 Partners, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the firm’s technology strategy and driving its innovation agenda. His expertise enables clients to embrace digital transformation with confidence while meeting regulatory expectations and delivering measurable business value.

Financial Freedom for Everyone:
Practical reform for a fairer credit system

Financial exclusion is rising, while the supply of credit for customers outside the mainstream has narrowed. Yet one of the clearest signs of financial responsibility, paying rent reliably every month, is still often missing from the data used to assess creditworthiness.

In this session, Evlo CEO Jono Gillespie will explain why making rental payment data more consistently available, with tenant consent, could help more people build stronger credit profiles and move up the credit ladder. He will share progress behind Evlo’s Financial Freedom for Everyone campaign, from building an industry coalition to engaging Parliament, Government and the FCA, alongside practical action through Evlo’s partnership with CreditLadder.

The session will also explore the challenges around rental data sharing and why Evlo believes progress, with appropriate safeguards, can deliver fairer outcomes for consumers, lenders and the wider UK economy. Jono will also touch on Evlo’s work to improve outcomes in the IVA market, including its call for stronger regulation and greater consumer protection.

Speaker Bio
Jono is a member of the CCTA council. He has worked in sub-prime financial services for almost 30 years. A Chartered Accountant, he held numerous roles at Provident Financial including Finance Director and CIO, before moving to NSF plc as CFO then Group CEO. He is currently CEO at Evlo. Jono is passionate about the sector and the people within it and is an advocate for financial inclusion.

Outside of work, Jono coaches junior football and cricket in the region he grew up in. He’s the club safeguarding officer for the local cricket and football clubs as well as the league safeguarding officer for the junior cricket league. Whilst he enjoys this immensely, it also means he gets to see first-hand the negative impacts of financial exclusion which helps inform decisions around the board table.

Redress: Friend or foe?

For more years than lenders care to remember, the topic of redress has been a live one. Redress events have led to significant redress programmes and even, in some cases, the failure of firms. This has led to operational challenges and some investors having a perception of a claims culture in the UK. But changes are on the horizon with consumer credit reform, reform of the Financial Ombudsman Service, developments before the Court (including so-called Omnibus Claims) and proposed wider reform of group litigation. So against that backdrop, redress: friend or foe?

Speaker Bio
Russell is a Partner and Head of Consumer & Motor Finance at Walker Morris. With over two decades of experience in retail finance, he is a recognised expert in contentious and non-contentious financial services matters, with particular expertise in consumer credit, motor finance, mortgage lending and asset finance.

Russell advises a broad range of clients, including banks, building societies, motor and consumer finance providers, credit card companies, payment services providers, point-of-sale lenders, debt purchasers and fintechs. Known for simplifying complex legal issues, he is a trusted adviser to boards and senior management teams navigating regulatory and commercial challenges.

Russell has longstanding relationships with the Finance and Leasing Association and the Consumer Credit Trade Association, delivering training and presenting at seminars and conferences for both. He also plays an active role in industry lobbying and recently served on HM Treasury’s expert working group on consumer credit reform. He is the author of numerous industry-standard textbooks and looseleaf publications.

Redress: Friend or foe?

For more years than lenders care to remember, the topic of redress has been a live one. Redress events have led to significant redress programmes and even, in some cases, the failure of firms. This has led to operational challenges and some investors having a perception of a claims culture in the UK. But changes are on the horizon with consumer credit reform, reform of the Financial Ombudsman Service, developments before the Court (including so-called Omnibus Claims) and proposed wider reform of group litigation. So against that backdrop, redress: friend or foe?

Speaker Bio
Paula is a legal industry expert specialising in contentious and non-contentious consumer financial services, with particular expertise in managing high-volume litigation claims. She develops effective strategies and procedures to handle complex cases efficiently and cost-effectively.

Paula also advises lenders on disputes relating to the sale and supply of goods and services, as well as asset recovery involving vehicles, plant and machinery. Her deep understanding of consumer protection law enables her to guide clients through disputes while ensuring regulatory compliance.

Her clients include high street banks, building societies, asset finance providers, high-cost short-term lenders and subprime lenders, who value her industry knowledge, experience and pragmatic, commercially focused advice.

A skilled problem solver, Paula focuses on understanding her clients’ objectives and finding practical solutions that minimise cost and risk. She thrives under pressure, values collaboration and teamwork, and continually seeks to improve efficiency and share knowledge to strengthen the wider team.

England Illegal Money Lending Team

Illegal lending is evolving, with activity increasingly extending beyond traditional loan shark models into online and social media channels. This session will provide a practical insight into what the Illegal Money Lending Team is seeing on the ground, who is turning to illegal lenders and why.

The session will explore the real-world harms associated with illegal lending, including exploitation, intimidation, economic abuse and links to wider financial crime. It will also consider an important question for the regulated credit market: what happens when consumers cannot access regulated credit, and how can demand be displaced towards illegal alternatives?

Delegates will hear what regulated lenders can do to recognise potential signs of illegal lending, support customers safely and work effectively with the IMLT.

The session will conclude with a discussion about how lenders, government, regulators and other stakeholders can work together to reduce illegal lending and improve access to safe, regulated credit.

Speaker Bio
Cath Wohlers has been Operations Manager at the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) since 2008. She oversees the section of the team that work with people who have borrowed from Loan Sharks, works on prevention and reporting projects and researches why people borrow from Loan Sharks. The IMLT have a 98% success rate in prosecuting Loan Sharks and have supported over 32,000 people who were victims of this crime.

The consumer who doesn’t exist: Why better affordability starts with better understanding

In a turbulent economic environment, a responsible credit decision now requires more than traditional metrics. The reliance on rigid, ‘tick-box’ assessments based on historic, ‘average’ consumer models often leads to the unnecessary rejection of creditworthy individuals who fall outside traditional categories. This session offers lenders an opportunity to access a deeper, more accurate understanding of their customers’ true financial standing and enable more confident lending decisions.

Evidence-based, real-time data is a powerful tool to move beyond standard categories, identify true affordability risks, and support modern borrowers. This session will challenge inflexible lending mindsets, explain how to build a better view of affordability, and show how you can use richer data to drive responsible decisioning while fulfilling Consumer Duty obligations, building a future where lending decisions are smarter, fairer, and more sustainable.

Speaker Bio
Andrea Cox is an industry expert specialising in affordability and financial vulnerability, with over 20 years of experience crafting data-driven solutions across diverse sectors. Her expertise includes conducting detailed income and expenditure assessments and identifying financial vulnerabilities early on.

Throughout her career, Andrea has made a significant impact in various industries including banking, finance, retail, telecom, utilities and debt management. Her comprehensive understanding of the affordability challenges in these sectors allows her to develop tailored strategies that effectively address financial distress.

As a thought leader, Andrea frequently shares her insights on affordability at industry conferences and workshops, where she is known for her forward-thinking approach and practical solutions. Her dedication to addressing financial vulnerability has not only influenced policy and practice but also helped countless organisations navigate their affordability challenges successfully.

Conference introduction & closing

Speaker Bio
As Chief Executive, Jason is responsible for shaping the Association’s strategic direction and representing members at the highest levels of government, regulatory bodies, and industry forums. Jason also works closely with his team to provide advice and guidance, ensuring the Association remains responsive to lenders’ needs.

Jason has over twenty years of experience in risk, comms and public policy. He began his career as an assistant in the European Parliament and has held senior roles in in-house and consultancy organisations. His background spans the public sector, housing, infrastructure planning, and financial services. Some of this time was focused on working with the government on national risk and crisis management, including planning work on utility failure, pandemics and terrorism.

Apart from day-to-day leadership, Jason mentors professionals in PR and public affairs. He is an enthusiast for technology.

Conference welcome

Speaker Bio
Mark is Chief Executive of Gain Credit, a consumer lending business focused on the UK and Chair of the Consumer Credit Trade Association. In 2024 Mark also joined the FCA’s Smaller Business Practitioner panel, which represents smaller regulated firms.

Having spent over a decade at Unilever, Mark held senior leadership roles with both RBS / NatWest and Bupa. He also served as Executive Director of the Money Advice Service, now the Money and Pension Service, driving strategy, policy and proposition development.

Mark has a passion for behaviour change. He has spoken at the United Nations, G20 and European Central Bank on building the financial resilience of consumers and co-founded a not-for-profit, focused on helping long-term unemployed people remain positive and reskill.

He has a degree in Mathematics, Statistics and Management Science and a Post Grad Dip in Business Management.

Rowan Millett-Ling is a Senior Product Manager at Acquired, specialising in card payment performance for recurring and subscription businesses. Rowan leads the company’s authorisation optimisation work across Retry Advice, Account Updater and Network Tokens, with a current focus on turning decline data and scheme mandates into measurable uplift for merchants.

Rowan comes to Acquired from the merchant side, having been CPO at B2C gifting platform Collection Pot, with earlier experience across the gift card and card issuing sectors. With over eight years in fintech spanning issuing, merchant and acquiring, Rowan is passionate about the mechanics behind a failed payment: how smarter retry logic, richer decline messaging and up-to-date credentials can recover revenue merchants had written off, reduce involuntary churn, and give businesses and consumers a clearer view of why their money moves the way it does.