Latest news with #consumercredit
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Irish home loans increase by €245 million in April
House purchasing loans increased by €245 million in April in line with a steady increase since May 2024, according to data released by the Central Bank. Its money and banking statistics show that on an annual basis, there was an increase in overall lending to households of €4 billion, or 3.9 per cent, in the 12 months to the end of April. This was mainly led by loans for house purchase, which increased by €3.4 billion, or 4 per cent. Similarly, consumer credit increased by €153 million, with annual flows worth €876 million in the year. Other forms of loans to households continued a downward trend, down €65 million on a monthly basis and €274 million annually. READ MORE Net lending to households was €333 million in April 2025, down from €625 million in the previous month, which the Central Bank said was 'mostly driven by loans for house purchase as well as the float in loans for consumption'. Over the month of April, household deposits recorded a net flow of more than €1.7 billion, which the Central Bank said was 'significantly higher' than the €409 million recorded in March. In annual terms, net household deposits increased by €9.7 billion, or 6.3 per cent, to reach almost €164 billion. Overnight deposits were €2.5 billion during the period, which the Central Bank said was 'significantly higher' than in the prior month. 'This represents the highest annual flow in the year so far after recording two successive slowdowns,' it said. Deposits from non-financial corporations (NFCs) turned positive last month, driven by medium and short-term loans, for a total positive flow of €381 million. Long-term loans, on the other hand, dropped €26 million in the month. In the first quarter of the year, the net asset value of Irish resident investment and money market funds decreased for the first time since Q3 2022, dropping to €4,945 billion. A €56 billion decrease in the net asset value from the final quarter in 2024 to the first three months of the year was due to 'significant negative revaluations, which were partially offset by transaction inflows', the Central Bank said. Equity firms dropped the most, down €49 billion, whereas other, mixed, hedge and real estate funds dropped less than €10 billion. Going against the trend, bond funds increased by €8 billion, and money market funds stayed static at the same level as the previous quarter.
Globe and Mail
27-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Borrowers increasingly struggling with mortgage and credit card debt, analysis shows
A number of red lights are flashing across the dashboard of Canada's consumer credit market, according to an analysis released Tuesday by Equifax. On everything from credit cards to mortgages, a growing share of borrowers is increasingly struggling to make their monthly debt payments, the numbers suggest. The report, which records data from the first three months of 2025, offers a gauge of the financial health of Canadian borrowers amid sputtering economic growth, rising unemployment and stubborn inflation. Signs of strain are particularly acute among young people and those living in Ontario, with missed payments rising even as many consumers are cutting back on spending, the data suggest. Excluding mortgages, the severe delinquency rate – the proportion of the total debt balance on which consumers have missed payments for 90 days or more – has reached 1.6 per cent. That is its highest level since 2010 when Canada was reeling from the effects of the global financial crisis, said Rebecca Oakes, vice-president of advanced analytics at Equifax Canada. 'That is not yet showing signs of levelling off to any degree. So that's where we are particularly concerned,' she added. Mortgage rates are battling a weak economy and persistent inflation, and inflation may be winning Delinquencies are rising even as Canadians are dialling back their credit card use. Average monthly spending per credit card holder in the first three months of the year was the lowest it has been since March of 2022, according to the report. But consumers are also paying off a smaller share of their monthly credit card bills than they used to. The shift has been especially dramatic among those under 35, who are now paying just under $59 of every $100 on their credit card balance, down from nearly $63 a year ago. The economic volatility of the past three years, which have seen inflation accelerate, interest rates go up and, more recently, jobless numbers creep up, has been particularly tough to navigate for younger consumers, who typically have lower incomes and less savings, said Ms. Oakes. The unemployment rate among 15- to 24-year-olds was around 14 per cent in April, around twice the overall jobless rate of 6.9 per cent, according to Statistics Canada. A shaky labour market may also help to explain why Ontario has emerged as what the report dubbed 'a hotspot for financial stress in Canada.' For young Canadians, the toughest job market in decades is threatening their financial futures Even before U.S. tariffs began hitting employment in Ontario's manufacturing sector in April, the province already had the highest jobless rate in Canada, along with Prince Edward Island. Ontario is also at the forefront of Canada's current wave of mortgage renewals, a treacherous moment for many financially overstretched borrowers. Scores of homeowners who bought properties in the pandemic housing boom are now facing loan renewals at higher interest rates, which is sending some households over their financial tipping point, Ms. Oakes said. For mortgage debt in Ontario, the severe delinquency rate rose to 0.24 per cent in the first quarter of the year, a hefty 72-per-cent increase since the same period in 2024, the data show. Across Canada, mortgage delinquency levels have risen to the highest they've been since the period around 2016 and 2017, shortly before Ottawa introduced mortgage stress tests, a stricter way of vetting mortgage applicants' finances to prevent overborrowing. Those rules caused the number of missed mortgage payments to drop and remain lower for years, Ms. Oakes said. But now mortgage delinquencies have crept back up even with the stress test in place, she noted.
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Britain to regulate buy now, pay later lenders
May 19 (Reuters) - Britain is to regulate buy now, pay later (BNPL) lenders from next year in a shift the government said would give shoppers stronger rights and more protections from the "wild west" of unregulated borrowing. The move, which comes alongside a wider set of changes to legislation for regulating consumer credit, will mean BNPL is treated like other credit products, the UK finance ministry said in a statement on Monday. Buy now, pay later companies are largely unregulated and typically offer on-the-spot short-term loans that spread consumer payments for retail products over multiple instalments. The new rules will require BNPL providers such as Klarna and Clearpay to carry out checks on whether customers can afford to take on the debt, and give them faster access to refunds, the finance ministry said. More than 10 million people in the UK use BNPL. The government says that when used responsibly it can be a useful tool to help people manage their finances. Consumer groups, however, have long raised concerns that cash-strapped shoppers are getting into debt by using BNPL to buy food or pay energy bills. "From next year, BNPL firms will need to follow consistent standards — so shoppers will know exactly what they're signing up to when they opt to break up payments, whether they can afford it, and how to get help when things go wrong," the finance ministry said. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds said BNPL had transformed shopping for millions but for too long "operated as a wild west" - leaving consumers exposed. The previous UK government announced draft plans to regulate the sector in 2023, saying at the time that it posed potential harm to consumers without thorough affordability checks. An extra 2 million people have started using BNPL since 2022, the government said on Monday.
Zawya
19-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Britain to regulate buy now, pay later lenders
Britain is to regulate buy now, pay later (BNPL) lenders from next year in a shift the government said would give shoppers stronger rights and more protections from the "wild west" of unregulated borrowing. The move, which comes alongside a wider set of changes to legislation for regulating consumer credit, will mean BNPL is treated like other credit products, the UK finance ministry said in a statement on Monday. Buy now, pay later companies are largely unregulated and typically offer on-the-spot short-term loans that spread consumer payments for retail products over multiple instalments. The new rules will require BNPL providers such as Klarna and Clearpay to carry out checks on whether customers can afford to take on the debt, and give them faster access to refunds, the finance ministry said. More than 10 million people in the UK use BNPL. The government says that when used responsibly it can be a useful tool to help people manage their finances. Consumer groups, however, have long raised concerns that cash-strapped shoppers are getting into debt by using BNPL to buy food or pay energy bills. "From next year, BNPL firms will need to follow consistent standards — so shoppers will know exactly what they're signing up to when they opt to break up payments, whether they can afford it, and how to get help when things go wrong," the finance ministry said. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds said BNPL had transformed shopping for millions but for too long "operated as a wild west" - leaving consumers exposed. The previous UK government announced draft plans to regulate the sector in 2023, saying at the time that it posed potential harm to consumers without thorough affordability checks. An extra 2 million people have started using BNPL since 2022, the government said on Monday. (Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Kirsten Donovan)
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
UK financial watchdog revamps consumer credit data collection
May 7 (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Conduct Authority is revamping the way it collects data from consumer credit providers in an effort to streamline the process and to clarify standard expectations of brokers, debt counsellors and advisers active in the industry. The watchdog has required consumer credit firms to periodically supply regulatory returns since 2014 but the data received can be inconsistent or not reflective of the harms it has uncovered in the sector, the FCA said on Wednesday. As a result, many firms face additional ad hoc data requests that the FCA is seeking to minimise. "The changes help streamline our data collection process so that we collect only what is necessary for the effective supervision of firms, ensuring they can focus on high-value reporting that supports better consumer and market outcomes," the FCA said. The new return will pose tailored questions, reflecting the specific business models of individual firms supporting more than 40 million consumers, the FCA said. "It will also enable us to better support consumers and focus our work where harm is greatest."
