News

Mike Conroy, BBA, Executive Director, Corporate and Commercial Banking said:

“The first quarter of this year saw an upturn in applications for loans and overdrafts from SMEs, although volumes were lower than at the same time a year earlier. Some 8 in 10 applications were approved and around £5.3bn of new lending was provided to support SMEs across regions and industry sectors”

Ian Jordan, Chair of the BBA’s Northern Ireland committee, said of the latest data:

“The first quarter of the year saw an increased number of SME loan applications, leading to a higher amount of new lending than in the previous half year”

City Minister and FCA CEO speak at BBA Retail Banking Conference

City Minister Stephen Barclay said that the government is committed to, “support the industry as it adapts to open banking, technology, new entrants – in ways that deliver better services to customers” and wanted to ensure that the sector’s needs are understood across Whitehall. FCA CEO Andrew Bailey noted that the regulator will focus on current account provision as part of its strategic review of retail banks business models. The conference was covered by a range of publications, including: the Financial Times, (£, p2), Politico (£ online), Daily Mail (p77), The Daily Telegraph (£, B3), The Independent (p50), Evening Standard (p45) and City AM (p3).

Bank of England publishes consumer credit data

The Bank of England’s latest monthly data shows consumer borrowing rose by 10.3% in the year to May (The Guardian, p24). The Daily Telegraph (£, B1) reports that 121,464 mortgages were approved last month, with total mortgage debt rising by £3.5 billion. Howard Archer, Chief Economic Advisor to EY’s Item Club said, “the housing market is being pressurised by weakened consumer purchasing power and increased consumer wariness over engaging in major transactions”. The BBA’s most recent High Street Lending data is available here.

NAO warns on cyber risk

The National Audit Office has called on the government to do more to address the risk of cybercrime, estimating that nearly two million cyber-related fraud cases took place last year (BBC News, online). The Times (£, p7) reports that the economic costs of cyber fraud is over £144 billion, £20 billion more than the NHS budget. Head of the National Audit Office, Sir Amyas Morse said, “for too long, as a low-value but high-volume crime, online fraud has been overlooked by government, law enforcement and industry. It is now the most commonly experienced crime in England and Wales and demands an urgent response”.

Today marks the final BBA Brief, and the last day of the BBA before it joins with five other trade associations to become UK Finance next week, after 98 years as the voice of banking. From 1 July 2017, the finance and banking industry operating in the UK will be represented by a new trade association, UK Finance. It will represent around 300 firms in the UK providing credit, banking, markets and payment-related services. The new organisation will take on most of the activities previously carried out by the Asset Based Finance Association, the British Bankers’ Association, the Council of Mortgage Lenders, Financial Fraud Action UK, Payments UK and the UK Cards Association.

Your daily financial and banking news brief will be back in your inbox in September. You’ll still receive the brief if you’re currently on the distribution list, but please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions.

Anthony Browne, BBA CEO’s final blog on the BBA’s many achievements after 98 years of the voice of banking, and the opportunities ahead for UK Finance.