Consumer Duty – one year on

Published 01 August 2024

It has now been one year since the Consumer Duty came into force for new and existing financial products and services. We are sure that firms will agree; it has been quite a journey so far! The implementation of the Duty has been a somewhat phased approach. The financial services industry had deadlines in relation to approved implementation plans and information exchange requirements. We are now at the stage of the final, hard deadline set for firms under the Duty, that deadline being Annual Board Reports and closed products and services.

CCTA Magazine: 2024 Issue Two

Published 31 July 2024

Welcome to the latest edition of CCTA Magazine. It’s fair to say the announcement of the General Election took many of us by surprise in May. We now have a new Labour Government in place, which will mean many changes in the political world.

What’s happening in the motor finance market?

Published 26 July 2024

After a mortgage, the purchase of a vehicle is often the second largest expense within a household, which is why a range of motor finance options have developed over the years to assist families in making this purchase. The CCTA membership includes motor finance firms of different sizes with various specialisms across the sector.

Understanding vulnerable customers

Published 17 July 2024

This Live Learning event is designed to compliment the CCTA Academy Vulnerable Customers course. It aims to enhance, at a more advanced level, the learners’ knowledge and understanding of vulnerability and help improve their skillsets when dealing with vulnerable customers. This content can be accessed by logging into CCTA Academy.

Motor finance (2024-3)

Published 04 July 2024

As many of our motor finance members will know, we regularly hold roundtable sessions to talk about motor finance issues, both picked up by the CCTA team and those raised by our member firms. Our last roundtable was held on 14 May 2024, and we are now reporting on those discussions in the form of a briefing to the membership on the key discussions.

What would be in the CCTA Manifesto?

Published 02 July 2024

As we head towards polling day for the general election on 4 July, we have now seen the manifestos from all the main political parties. The purpose of a manifesto is to outline the steps a party would take, if they get the opportunity to form a government. From what we have seen most of the 2024 manifestos have been light on the detail around consumer credit and financial inclusion – understandably there are other issues that grab the headlines like NHS waiting lists and illegal migration.

Summer 2024

Published 11 June 2024

Duncan McLellan, Senior Fraud Intelligence Analyst at CIFAS, discussed the current threat landscape and key challenges facing firms trying to tackle fraud. Our Consumer Duty panel considered the deadline for closed products and the annual board report. CCTA provided an update on activity and discussed the election results.

FOS consults on charging CMCs

Published 10 June 2024

A general election wasn’t the only announcement we saw in late May. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) also published its next consultation on plans to move forward with charging professional representatives, including Claims Management Companies (CMCs), to access their service. We, along with many CCTA members, responded to the last consultation calling for action to be taken.

The general election and a possible change in government

Published 30 May 2024

On 22 May, Rishi Sunak surprised most of the UK by calling a General Election to take place on 4 July. Much of the political world thought it would take place in the autumn, but there was a growing sense that this was as good as it would get for the Conservatives. Though polls can be misleading and often narrow as election day approaches, Labour has consistently been around twenty points ahead of the Conservatives. It seems unlikely that the Tories will feature in the next government. Labour looks likely to be at the head of the next government in some form, possibly with a majority, a minority, or a coalition arrangement.

CMC Update (2024-2)

Published 28 May 2024

We have been concerned about the gap between CMCs regulated by the (FCA and legal firms regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). So, we were pleased to see the SRA publicly warning legal firms to review their behaviour and the need for lawyers to uphold their professional obligations.

Treasury Committee looks at the issue of de-banking

Published 20 May 2024

Earlier this month the influential Treasury Select Committee published their report into SME Finance. The Committee contains MPs from across the House of Commons, representing all major parties. The report was commissioned to look at the recent experiences of small businesses. It was designed to consider the issue of access to finance and what else can be done to encourage business growth.

Motor finance – May 2024

Published 14 May 2024

Regulatory developments will be with us for the foreseeable future. Our agenda looked at what is happening around commissions, from the questions of disclosure to developments around discretionary commissions. We also invited associate member law firms and consultants who have their fingers on the pulse