英国财政部《普惠金融报告2018-2019》.pdf

Financial inclusion report 2018-19 March 2019 Financial inclusion report 2018-19 March 2019  ‹ VLJQSRVWLQJWR3RVW2IILFHVHUYLFHVRQEDQNV·ZHEVLWHVDQGEUDQFKOHDIOHWVDPost Office advertising campaign; and close collaboration with organisations who work with those consumers who would most benefit from knowing about these services. UK Finance and the Post Office have committed to carry out an uation of these activities and report back to HM Treasury with the results. Credit 1.10 The gRYHUQPHQW·VYLVLRQLVIRUDIDLUDQGVXVWDLQDEOHFRQVXPHUFUHGLWVHFWRUwhich meets the needs of all consumers. Over recent years, the gRYHUQPHQW·VIRFXVhas been on creating a more robust regulatory regime for the sector. This led to transferring supervision of the consumer credit market to the FCA in 2014, giving the FCA strong powers to protect consumers and a broad enforcement toolkit which includes the power to levy unlimited fines. This has been a successful approach and the FCA has secured over £900 million in redress for consumers who have been treated unfairly since taking over regulation. Transferring regulation to the FCA has also resulted in a review of the sector and a number of targeted interventions to tackle the consumer detriment identified in certain areas of the high-cost credit market. 1.11 It is clear, however, that effective regulation is only one part of delivering the gRYHUQPHQW·VYLVLRQ7RRRIWHQLWLVWKHSRRUHVWZKRSD\WKHPRVWIRUFUHGLW Social and community lenders such as credit unions and Community Development Finance Institutions CDFIs provide a lower cost alternative to high-cost lenders, they are small in comparison and lack the visibility and capability to compete at scale. The UK needs a much larger, more vibrant social lending sector to offer a real alternative for people who are currently only able to access high-cost credit, as well as alternatives for consumers who would struggle to repay loans from even lower cost, social lenders. 1.12 At Autumn Budget 2018, the government set out its long-term ambition to ensure that all families can access affordable, responsible loans to meet their needs and demonstrated this commitment by announcing a number of proposals to boost the provision of affordable credit. This work was underpinned by work undertaken by members of the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum, and the proposals announced were ined by recommendations made by the forum and the wider sector. This section covers recent progress, both in terms of enhancing regulation of the high-cost credit market, as well as interventions aimed at supporting the affordable credit sector. Regulation of high-cost credit 1.13 One of the key interventions to protect consumers from excessive costs associated with credit was the introduction of a cap on the cost of high-cost 10 short term credit loans. The government legislated to require the FCA to introduce the cap, which came into force on 2 January 2015. In July 2017, the FCA published a review of the price cap, which showed that it has been effective, leading to savings of approximately £150 million for 760,000 individuals using high-cost short-term credit loans each year. Other FCA action in recent years has included measures to tackle persistent credit card debt including a package of voluntary remedies agreed by the credit card industry, giving customers more control and restricting credit limit increases. 1.14 Since the introduction of the high-cost credit cap for short term loans, the FCA has been conducting a further review of the high-cost credit market. This includes products and services such as overdrafts, rent-to-own, buy now pay later offers and catalogue credit. 1.15 7KH·VFRQVXOWDWLRQRQRYHUGUDIWVLQFOXGHVSURSRVDOVWRPDQGDWHWKDWfirms cannot charge more for unarranged overdrafts than arranged overdrafts, banning daily fixed charges, and a package of measures to improve the transparency of pricing. The FCA also announced plans to make it easier for customers to understand how their overdraft facility works and better manage their use through alerts. The FCA plans to publish the results of the consultation and their final remedies in June, with a view to firms implementing the remedies by December this year. 1.16 Following consultation, the FCA has introduced a price cap on rent-to-own which will come into force on 1st April 2019. The measures are designed to improve outcomes for consumers paying the highest prices when using this product, and are estimated to save consumers in the UK up to £22.7 million a year. Additional protections for buy now pay later offers are also under consultation. Changes have already been made to home-collected credit, catalogue credit, store cards, and rent-to-own extended warranties. The measures aim to support credit markets in which consumers can understand their options and choose products that meet their needs. 1.17 NH\SDUWRIWKH·VZRUNLQWKLVDUHDLVSURPRWLQJWKHDYDLODELOLW\DQGawareness of alternatives to high-cost credit. These alternatives include both lower cost credit and non-crHGLWRSWLRQVWKDWPHHWDFRQVXPHU·VQHHGVIRUexample sources of essential household goods. In December 2018, the FCA published guidance for social landlords to help clarify the types of activities they are likely to require FCA authorisation for when seeking to assist their tenants. Access to affordable credit 1.18 At the first meeting of the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum in March 2018, access to affordable credit was recognised as a key challenge, which government and the sector need to come together to address. In response, the forum set up a subgroup that worked to analyse gaps and develop UHFRPPHQGDWLRQVWKDWZRXOGLPSURYHSHRSOH·VDFFHVVWRDIIRUGDEOHFUHGLWand would support the affordable credit sector. The Affordable Credit subgroup was co-chaired by UK Finance and Toynbee Hall and attended by industry, charities, consumer groups, government officials and regulators, including non-forum members. The recommendations from the Affordable Credit subgroup were presented to the second meeting of the forum in 11 October 2018. These included options to tackle regulatory barriers for affordable credit providers, improve use of creditworthiness data, improve the digital verification of ID, promote investment to social lenders, support social lenders target consumers, introduce a no-interest loans scheme, and look KROLVWLFDOO\DWLPSURYLQJSHRSOH·VUHVLOLHQFHWRUHGXFHWKHQHHGIRUcredit. 1.19 These recommendations played a key role in shaping the gRYHUQPHQW·VORQJ-term vision in this area. In line with the recommendations of the forum, the government announced a package of affordable credit measures at Budget 2018. These are designed to foster a larger, more vibrant social lending sector that can offer a real alternative for lower-income customers who can often only access high-cost credit. Specifically x The Budget provided £2 million for an Affordable Credit Challenge Fund,due to be launched by HM Treasury in summer 2019. The fund will seekto harness the pRZHURIWKH8.·VZRUOG-leading fintech industry, invitingparticipants to devise technological solutions addressing the challengesfaced by social and community lenders such as credit unions and CDFIs.x For those at the margins of the financial system, and for whom borrowingfrom social and community lenders can be unaffordable, the governmentis launching a feasibility study to design a pilot no-interest loans scheme ²a study which will see the government partnering with leading debtcharities and the banking industry. The government has commissionedLondon Economics to undertake the Feasibility Study, which will begin inMarch 2019 for publication by early summer.x The government is also tackling barriers faced by social lenders, and willsimplify legislation to make it easier for Registered Social Landlords RSLs,to direct tenants to social and community lenders such as credit unionsand CDFIs. This will help to raise awareness of alternatives to high-costcredit. The government aims to lay the relevant legislation during theSummer.x To strengthen credit unions further, the government will also pilot a prize-linked savings scheme which will support the sector through increasedmembership, awareness and deposits. The scheme will encourageparticipants to build up savings, boosting their financial resilience as wellas helping more people benefit from these valued community institutions.The government will select a diverse group of credit unions fromthroughout the UK to participate in the pilot, who are in a position to usethe deposits gained from their participation in the scheme to increasetheir overall lending. Working with academics, the government will alsoembed uation into the pilot to leverage the behavioural insightsgained to understand how the model could be scaled. The scheme will beavailable before the end of 2019.Dormant assets 1.20 The gRYHUQPHQW·VPHDVXUHVWRVXSSRUWDIIRUGDEOHFUHGLWSURYLGHUVDWXGJHW2018 followed the announcement made in August 2018 in the Civil Society Strategy that £55 million of funding from dormant bank and building 12 society accounts will be directed towards financial inclusion. These funds will be delivered by a new, independent organisation ² Fair4all Finance ² which will work with partners across the private and social sectors to tackle financial exclusion, primarily addressing the problem of access to affordable credit and alternatives. Fair4all Finance launched in February 2019 and is expected to be fully operational in autumn 2019. Distribution of funds from dormant accounts will start towards the end of 2019. 1.21 This funding will help the affordable credit sector to grow and support alternatives to credit, through both investments and grants that support existing and new organisations. This will help these organisations reach more customers, many of which are currently using expensive s of credit. To achieve that, Fair4all Finance will aim to bring in co-funding from a range of investors, including the private sector. It will also build partnerships with other organisations working hard in this area, including the Financial Inclusion Commission, the End High Cost Credit Alliance, and the social sector more widely. It will also develop strategic partnerships with housing associations, as potential partners who deal with many customers at risk of financial exclusion. 1.22 Fair4All Finance will also look to support other ways of helping individuals strengthen their financial resilience, for instance by working with providers of affordable credit to develop approaches to helping customers save money alongside taking out credit. Fair4all Finance will also explore ways to help people protect themselves against income shocks, such as through insurance. Savings 1.23 Having access to credit is extremely important for people to be able to manage and smooth their income over time. However, it is also crucial that people build up their financial resilience and are supported to save for a rainy day. This is particularly important for those on low incomes who may be more vulnerable to financial shocks but who may find it harder to save and for whom incentives to save are often weaker. The government is committed to supporting people at all income levels and at all stages of life to save, and has stepped up action to ensure that useful products are available for people on low incomes. 1.24 To that end, in September 2018, the government launched the Help to Save scheme, following a successful trial from January 2018. Over 90,000 people have so far opened an account and £13 million has been saved. Help to Save supports working people on low incomes to build up a rainy-day fund while encouraging the development of a long-term savings habit, by offering a 50 government bonus on up to £50 of monthly savings. The first bonus is paid after two years, and customers can continue saving for a further two years and receive a second bonus. This means that people can save up to £2,400 and benefit from government bonuses worth up to £1,200. As well as incentivising people on low incomes to save, Help to Save will help to promote financial inclusion more broadly by encouraging people to engage with al savings products beyond the life of the scheme. 13 1.25 For people at all income levels, Budget 2018 provided stability. Savers will continue to benefit from generous allowances in 2019-20, including the record annual adult ISA subscription limit of £20,000 and the Personal Savings Allowance. This means that over 95 of UK adults with savings income pay no tax on that income. Insurance 1.26 Access to adequate insurance is another crucial way to protect individuals from financial shocks, such as being burgled, crashing their car or something going wrong on holiday. It therefore plays a vital role in the financial resilience of consumers, particularly those on low incomes and those who are vulnerable. 1.27 In June 2018, the FCA published its response to its call for on access to insurance which invited views on the ability of consumers who have or have KDGFDQFHUWRDFFHVVWUDYHOLQVXUDQFH,QWKH·VIHHGEDFNVWDWHPHQWWKHFCA committed to working with the insurance industry and consumer groups to help people with pre-existing medical conditions access the insurance they need. The FCA has committed to the setup of a new signposting service that will better enable these consumers to access a range of providers who may be able to offer more appropriate cover for their condition. 1.28 In addition, in October 2018, new rules came into force governing how insurers and brokers must treat their customers during the sale or distribution of insurance. These rules introduced an Insurance Product Ination Document IPID to be issued to retail customers. This is a two or three-page document that contains key product ination about a policy. The IPID is designed to make it easier for all retail including vulnerable consumers to understand what risks their insurance policy will