FIN.

Category - Consumer Finance

FOS warns on credit hire risks

FOS is warning that many consumers do not understand the risks of credit hire, which could leave them facing large bills. Credit hire is used as an alternative to claiming on motor insurance, and involves claims or...

Ombudsman News updates FOS initiatives

The latest edition of Ombudsman News highlights: what FOS is doing to prepare for the Consumer Duty; the annual complaints data from 2022/3; its items on hybrid scams and escape of water in unoccupied properties...

FCA implements Mortgage Charter rules

FCA has published a policy statement setting out changes to the MCOB sourcebook to support the implementation of the Government’s Mortgage Charter. The rule changes take effect immediately from 30 June, and enable...

FSM Bill gets Royal Assent

As expected, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 got Royal Assent on 29 June.  Heralding it, Treasury described its key features as: bringing the ability to tailor financial services regulation to fit UK markets...

FSM Bill completes Parliamentary process

The FSM Bill returned to the Lords for consideration of the few amendments the Commons had made.  These were agreed, and so the Bill has completed its Parliamentary passage and now awaits Royal Assent. It is expected to...

Treasury publishes mortgage charter

Treasury has published a policy paper on the Mortgage Charter, which sets out commitments from the principal UK mortgage lenders to their residential mortgage borrowers. The new commitments are designed to help...

Lords passes FSM Bill

The FSM Bill has had its third reading in the Lords, and has been passed and returned to the Commons as amended in the Lords.   The Commons now needs to consider the Lords’ amendments, and, if all is agreed, the...

FOS publishes annual complaint data stats

FOS has published the annual complaints data for the 2022/23 financial year and commented on the common themes. Of the most complained about products current accounts had a 40% uphold rate; credit cards 34%...

FSMB Report stage in Lords to start on 6 June

The Report stage of the FSM Bill is to start in the Lords on 6 June.  As previously reported, 3 days of sittings have been scheduled so far. On the first day, amendments to be debated include those on protecting the...

FCA bans debt packager referral fees

FCA has made its final rules banning debt packager firms from operating a business model that incentivises them to recommend options that make them more money rather than those that are in their customer’s best...

FCA updates on changes for credit unions

FCA has published a new website page on the changes the FSM Bill proposes for credit unions. It highlights to credit unions that, if the changes come into law, any firm wanting to take advantage of them will need to...

FCA takes action on redress for borrowers

FCA has updated on its work with nearly 100 lenders on how they treat borrowers in financial difficulties. It identified a number of failings, including failure to tailor support to the circumstances of relevant...

FCA publishes latest Financial Lives survey

FCA is inviting participants in its 2022 Financial Lives survey to take part in the new follow-up survey, which looks to understand what has changed in financial services for people in the UK over the last year. The...

FCA publishes Q1 fin proms data

The Financial Promotions data from Q1 2023 shows that 2235 promotions were amended or withdrawn as a result of FCA intervention. Nearly half of these were identified by FCA’s own proactive monitoring and almost...

FCA speaks on credit markets

Roma Pearson of FCA spoke on the importance of a well functioning credit market and the need for firms to understand the impact on consumers of changing pressures and to offer appropriate support. She noted that good...

FCA responds on savings rates

FCA has responded to the Treasury Committee’s enquiries on what analysis it had done on on whether banks were making disproportionate profit by increasing mortgage rates more quickly than savings rates...

FCA speaks on green mortgages

David Geale has spoken on FCA’s view of green mortgages.  He said that every part of the housing chain has a role to play, and that lenders are risking missing their decarbonisation targets if they do not evolve...

FCA pleased with overdraft rules effect

FCA says customers have saved £1bn as a result of its improved rules on overdrafts which have reduced high fees for unarranged borrowing, have removed complex charging structures and required firms to help struggling...

FOS publishes H2 2022 complaints data

FOS has published data on complaints received between July and December 2022.  It saw a slight increase in complaints over the first half of the year, and received nearly 80,000 new complaints. It upheld 34% of...

LSB publishes Customer Vulnerability report

The LSB has published a report reviewing customer vulnerability in the banking and lending sector. Overall, the LSB concluded that it was clear that firms are committed to meeting the requirements set out in the...

FSM Bill Committee day 8

On 13 March 2023, the House of Lords Grand Committee continued its line by line examination of the FSM Bill, which took place during the eighth day of committee stage. The amendments that were discussed covered clauses...

Parliament to debate acceptance of cash

On Monday 20 March, Parliament will debate petitions relating to the acceptance of cash. The session will be lead by Martyn Day MP. One petition, which has more than 33,000 signatures, seeks to ‘make it unlawful...

FLA publishes consumer credit research

The Finance and Leasing Association has published a research paper that looks at what improvements consumers would like to see in consumer credit. While many respondents thought the products and markets are functioning...

Latest FOS data shows rise in complaints

FOS has published its complaints data from Q3, 2022/23, which shows a rise of 6,000 in new complaints, with the most significant rise relating to running account credit but current accounts are still the most complained...

Treasury consults on BNPL legislation

Treasury has published the long-awaited consultation on draft legislation to bring those who offer Buy-Now-Pay-Later and similar products within the scope of financial regulation.  It has published both the draft law...

BoE speaks on digital pound

Sir Jon Cunliffe has spoken on the digital pound, as the BoE and Treasury launched their consultation. He noted that, while no firm decision can be taken on implementing the digital pound, the taskforce is now moving to...

FCA publishes Consumer Duty sector letters

FCA has published a set of Dear CEO letters it has sent to several sectors on preparation for the Consumer Duty.  It has so far written to: asset management, custody and fund services and alternatives; consumer...

FCA steps up on fin prom actions

The latest figures FCA has published on its actions relating to financial promotions shows a huge increase in the numbers of ads it required firms to amend or remove in 2022 over the previous year.  It required action...

FCA to ban debt packager referral fees

FCA has confirmed its plan to ban debt packager firms from getting referral fees from debt solution providers. It has issued a further short consultation to enable it to get more evidence which will then allow it to...

CMA announces new OBIE Chair

Marion King has been appointed as the new Chair and Trustee of the Open Banking Implementation Entity with effect from 1 February 2023. The outgoing chair, Charlotte Crosswell, published her summary report on the end of...

First session of Grand Committee on FSMB

In the first session of the Grand Committee sitting on the FSM Bill, Clause 1-23 of the Bill were approved (some with amendments), and a number of Government amendments were also agreed. There was lengthy discussion on...

FSM Bill Grand Committee stage starts

The first day of the Lords Grand Committee hearing on the FSM Bill took place on 25 January.  There are now 6 dates scheduled in total, with sittings taking place now on 30 January, then 1, 6, 8 and 20 February.  195...

FCA follows restrictions on high-cost lender

FCA has published a First Supervisory Notice in respect of Micro-E C.I.C, trading as Kariba.  The firm, a high costs lender, appears to have misused money from loans and does not seem to have sufficient assets to cover...

FSMB: Further Lords amends for debate

Further amendments to the FSM Bill have been published for debate in the Lords Committee. They relate mainly to: FCA powers beyond designated activities, aimed at giving it appropriate powers to take action against...

Lords publishes FSMB amendments for Committee

The House of Lords has published a set of amendments to the FSMB for discussion in the Grand Committee, which is now scheduled to sit on 25 and 30 January and 1 February. The amendments include several amendments that...

FCA extends confirmed guidance on motor ads

FCA has extended its confirmation of the Radiocentre industry guidance on ensuring financial promotions for motors brands on radio are clear, fair and not misleading and compliant with CONC.  The guidance is now...

FSMB completes second reading in Lords

The FSMB had its second reading in the Lords on 10 January.  Baroness Penn, leading for the Government, summarised the importance of the Bill and its overarching aims, which she described as: implementing the outcomes...

Consumer Duty events

The FCA has announced it will be hosting a series of live and local events on the Consumer Duty across the UK between February and June 2023. The paid for events are aimed at retail investment and mortgage firms, and...

Treasury consults on CCA reform

Treasury is consulting on reform of the Consumer Credit Act. This is the first consultation following its announcement in June that it would undertake reform, and seeks views on the strategic direction of the reform...

Treasury publishes FS law Brexit strategy

Treasury has published a Policy Paper setting out how it intends to deal with retained EU law in the financial regulatory sector. The Policy Paper says that the FSMA model, with the operationally dependent regulators...

FSM Bill report stage

As scheduled, the FSM Bill had its report stage on 7 December and, eventually, at nearly 7pm, the Third Reading of the Bill took place and was agreed to. The Bill now moves to the Lords. While we still await the new...

New AR rules take effect

The FCA’s reforms to the appointed representative regime have come into force and the FCA has published a new webpage setting out information on the s165 requests it will be sending to principal firms. As a...

FCA consults on mortgage support guidance

The FCA is consulting on draft guidance explaining how firms can support their mortgage customers impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, including varying a contract for forbearance purposes. The draft guidance will...

FCA updates on debt packager proposals

Following its November 2021 consultation on plans to ban debt packagers from receiving referral fees from debt solution providers, the FCA has provided an update on its proposals. The FCA will set out its proposed next...

FSM Bill report stage on 7 December

The FSM Bill is to have its report stage and third reading in Parliament on 7 December, after receiving the Bill with amendments from the Public Bills Committee. It is possible for Parliament to make amendments at...

FCA and LSB publish MoU

FCA and LSB have published their MoU which sets out their intentions to cooperate in carrying out their respective functions under the Banking Conduct Regime and Consumer Credit Regime and the various LSB Standards and...

FCA updates on mortgage switching

Following its update earlier this year, the FCA has published a technical note on switching in the mortgage market which includes more in-depth analysis. Key findings include: since the mortgage market study (MMS) (H2...

Final day of FSMB debate published

In the morning and afternoon of the final day of the Public Bills Committee debate on the FSM Bill, the remaining tabled new clauses were discussed: that the Chair of the PSR should be a member of the FCA board:  this...

FOS publishes latest complaints data

The latest quarterly complaints data from FOS reveals: 38,470 new complaints from July – September 2022 (Q2), an increase of 3,000 on Q1; nearly 6,000 complaints about current accounts (up by 500) nearly 3,400...

Andrew Griffith letters on FSMB

The House of Commons has published a letter from Andrew Griffith on the FSM Bill dated 10 October to Tulip Siddiq and Abena Oppong-Asare. The letter followed the second reading of the Bill and addresses: the...

Further FSMB revisions released

Parliament has published the latest raft of proposed amendments to the FSM Bill. These include: a change to the very first sub-clause, replacing the revocation of the EU and EU-derived legislation in the schedule so...

FCA publishes H1 complaints data

FCA has published the complaints data for H1 2022, which shows: a 1% increase in complaints from the previous period (1.88m complaints) the biggest increase was in the decumulation and pensions group (15%) with a 5%...

First day of FSMB Committee hearing

As scheduled, the Public Bill Committee scrutinising the FSM Bill had its first day of scheduled evidence sessions on 19 October, and an updated amendment paper was published. The Committee heard in the morning from...