Some fairly significant news developments this last week, at least for the financial services industry.
First off there was the announcement that letters used for the collection of debt, now needed to be in clear English, signpost free debt advice, and not use capitals in the letters. The industry consensus, contrary to the impression from many news stories, was that this was a good thing and of course, there is also little to stop businesses from doing most of this today… indeed many do. However it will now be regulation for, so at a minimum will be another thing to monitor for compliance and control.
Next up, there was further concern on the performance of the BBLS scheme, with the release of a national audit office report. With around £40bn lent, with a priority on speed of distribution rather than control, fraud is expected to be an issue. Additionally, with weak onboarding and underwriting control, around 30%-75% are expected to default. Even at the lower range, this is a staggering number, and with the government picking up the tab the dynamics will be different… much more to hear on this I think.
Likewise I also some time reviewing the legislation for the new breathing space scheme this week too. There are some signficiant operational issues heading our way on this and many are working on this already… expect to hear a more on this soon too.
And… with COVID cases firmly on the rise again it looks like we will be nearly all in lockdown again… indeed some are already… economic clouds and uncertainty remain firmly on the horizon.
Other key stories this week
- UK’s internet use surges to record levels
- UK talks for longer during lockdown
- Nearly 75% of City firms reviewing office space provision
- Half of workers relying on credit since pandemic
- UK new car sales slide to lowest September level this century
- ‘My firm may fold because I can’t get a bouncebank loan’
- Covid: Nearly 500,000 redundancies planned since crisis began
Have a good weekend everyone… @chris_w_tweet
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