We provide market updates on important issues to key figures in the industry on different topics, but all related to our activities throughout Europe. We cover hot news stories and give our honest opinion on developments, threats and opportunities.
Our articles can be in the form of e-shots, ‘white papers’ or social media commentary, but we will not comment on trivial matters – you will not see us commenting on what type of coffee we are drinking whilst waiting for a train! You can catch up on our previous commentaries by looking at the archive below.
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Some commentators have suggested that 2020 will be a quiet year for portfolio trades, on the basis that any holder of an asset who might have been minded to dispose of part or all of a portfolio would have done so by now, particularly if it is in the NPL category. We do not share […]
The FCA website shows the level of fines imposed during 2019 currently stands at a shocking £392 million. That number is significantly up from £60m in 2018 and £229m in 2017. The total cost of failure is, of course, substantially higher than just the fine! It needs to include the investigation costs, administration costs of […]
2019 has been an interesting year for mortgage lenders and despite generally pessimistic predictions at the end of 2018, most lenders we work with seem satisfied with their net book growth. However, three factors have presented lenders with significant challenges this year; the management of flow rates, net interest margins and cost controls. Flow rates: […]
Since the passing of the deadline for the submission of PPI mis-selling claims, the popular media and trade press have been awash with suggested areas that Claims Management Companies [CMCs] will move into next. Whatever you think about CMCs, it seems that the financial services industry can quite easily provide them with plenty of opportunities […]
The year is shaping up to be a challenging one for many lenders. So far, we have seen a widening of criteria, increases in risk layering and loosening of underwriting controls as firms attempt to achieve lending volume objectives. At the same time, competition has forced prices down, squeezing already tight margins. Sometimes we wonder […]
The core thrust of the Bank of England annual cyclical stress test focuses on the 7 major UK banks and building societies who present a systemic risk to the stability of the UK financial system. All other sector firms must also design their own specific stress testing system. To enable this analysis, the PRA publishes […]
It is not surprising that many businesses, and the media, hang on every word that comes out of the Bank of England. It seems that the appetite for news in the mortgage trade press is unsatisfiable and that the daily news machine often contains conflicting analysis of the same outputs. As an example, two recent […]
The peer to peer [P2P] lending market has never been without controversy; despite being regulated by the FCA from April 2014 when it took over the regulation of consumer credit from the OFT. As early as 2016, the FCA launched a review of its regulation of the crowdfunding sector and that review resulted in additional […]
