In a post-pandemic world, there has been a shift in the way people attend industry events. So, it was great to participate in the CS Lending Summit operated by Credit Strategy. For us, there was interest in how Consumer Duty continues to be a mandatory discussion point and how there is more focus on access to credit.

CS Lending Summit has long been a chance to review the lending agenda and look ahead. This was no different as we heard about some of the significant issues. There was a great session on what is happening regarding the use of credit, especially during this period of economic volatility.

Consumer Duty is high on today’s agenda.

I was delighted to be asked to contribute as a speaker and to chair the Consumer Duty session.

Consumer Duty has been a priority for the Consumer Credit Trade Association and our members for the last few years. Discussions about what the Consumer Duty might be in practice, consultations and implementation programmes have been challenging.

It was interesting to hear from various firms about how they approached this matter. The examples included considerable changes to credit products alongside increased communication and engagement.

Consumer Duty is not just a matter for today’s agenda. We know it will be with us for the foreseeable future. One of the questions I wanted to ask is what the next phase might look like.

Everyone can point to issues within their sector that might be reviewed through this new prism. We have already seen the FCA intervene with the banks regarding passing on interest rate rises to savers.

There are several other areas where the FCA has started to talk about whether a particular approach might not fit with Consumer Duty.

I think that we will see more of this. Will this be a way to pick up on issues the FCA feels are untidy and make changes without specific rules or consultation?

Access to credit is always on our agenda.

We are always interested in discussions about access to credit. Our founding members formed our association over a century ago to push out new credit products to expand access to communities underserved by mainstream lenders.

So it was interesting to hear Steve Brigham of Moneyline talking about their experience as the “lender of last resort”. Many of the issues they face seem very familiar. However, I think it is fair to say that many of our members tend to serve a higher-income grouping.

Anyone with a view of what is happening can see that illegal lending is increasing. The research from Fair4All estimates that about three million people have used loan sharks over the last three years. We know that the Centre for Social Justice came up with just over a million people currently involved with illegal lenders.

All the panellists picked up on the growth of Buy Now Pay Later. Expanding outside of FCA regulation. By now, we have enough research to suggest that BNPL has filled part of the short-term lending gap that emerged as regulated short-term credit has fallen away.

It was a good discussion, but I am concerned that such debates seem to spring up, and we don’t make much progress. We cover the same ground and replay some arguments that should have been settled by now.

There is need for a structured discussion.

The next step for CS Lending Summit?

Often changing format over the years, Credit Strategy announced they would radically change by bringing this event into a revised Credit Week 2024.

From what we have heard, this will be about unifying Credit Strategy’s established conferences into one more extended event. We believe that they will also run the Credit Awards.

The CCTA looks forward to being involved in Credit Week 2024.