On 18 December 2018 the Financial Conduct Authority published various items relating to consumers and credit of which lenders and social landlords should be aware:
- The FCA has made new rules strengthening protections for consumers using doorstep lending, catalogue credit and store cards. Some of these, relating to the treatment of customers in financial difficulty, apply with immediate effect. In the same paper, the FCA is consulting further on ‘buy now, pay later’ offers.
- To help consumers to get essential household goods and less expensive credit, the FCA has published guidance for registered social landlords.
- As part of its wider high-cost credit review, the FCA has announced a package of measures on how banks charge for overdrafts.
- The FCA has also published its final report on its strategic review of retail banking business models.