DEMSA Newsletter Summary

What you need to know this week The Bank of England held interest rates at 3.75% at its April 2026 MPC meeting (vote 8-1); chief economist Huw Pill was the sole dissenter, voting for a rise to 4%. Under Scenario C (most adverse), oil remains above $120/barrel for the rest of 2026, inflation peaks at 6.2% in early 2027, and rates could rise to 5.5% through up to six hikes. FCA H2 2025 complaints data: financial services firms received 1.87… Read more

What you need to know this week Sarah Breeden highlighted the risk of multiple shocks crystallising at the same time, including a macroeconomic shock, loss of confidence in private credit, and AI or other valuation readjustments.StepChange reported that 89% of clients started their debt advice journey digitally in March 2026.StepChange clients completing debt advice reached 16,349 in March 2026, up 7% on February 2026 and 20% on March 2025.StepChange reported that 27% of clients presented with deficit budgets in March… Read more

What you need to know this week Fuel costs remain a live cost-of-living pressure, with the text linking renewed Strait of Hormuz disruption to household affordability concerns.75% of people cited fuel prices as a reason for increased living costs in March 2026, up from 38% in February.Consumer use of AI is rising faster than trust in it, creating a challenge for firms using AI in regulated customer journeys.A growing need to build trust around AI, data-sharing and Open Finance, particularly… Read more

What you need to know this week Affordability remains a defining issue in 2026 as firms face rising household cost pressures, growing debt stress and closer regulatory scrutiny ahead of the Affordability Summit on 14/4/2026 in Manchester.MaPS’ latest update highlights the updated Standards, the new MaPS Standards Portal and the upcoming FCA review, with Daniel Kelly presenting on the SFS and new innovations at the Affordability Summit.Firms are being pushed to improve affordability journeys so customers can disclose income and… Read more

What you need to know this week The two-child benefit cap has been scrapped, with around 480,000 families with three or more children set to receive an average rise of £4,100 a year, while 2.7m people are also due a pay rise through minimum wage increases.Energy affordability remains under acute pressure, with Ofgem reporting £3.17 billion in domestic credit balances for fixed direct debit customers and total domestic customer debt and arrears of £4.55 billion.Average energy debt continues to rise,… Read more

What you need to know this week FCA-approved MaPS Standards and supporting toolkits take effect on 1 April 2026, with new SFS figures also taking effect shortly after.Community Money Advice and Christians Against Poverty will come together under a newly formed CAP Group, creating a larger specialist community-based debt advice network across the UK.Ofgem states that households on standard variable tariffs remain protected by the energy price cap until the end of June 2026 despite Middle East-related pressure on wholesale… Read more