Risk Assessment
Supporting compliance for outsourcing rules
Outsourcing rules are contained in Chapter 14 of the PRA Rule Book. In short, where an important operational function is outsourced, additional controls should be in place to manage that service. In most cases where a credit union is relying on cloud-based services – outsourcing rules apply. As organisations rely more than ever on the…
Read MoreCovid-19 means falling credit scores. A holistic view is needed
Covid-19 will increase bad debt. Covid-19 means falling credit scores. Spending 1/5 of monthly income on credit is already tight. But losing 20% of a salary (assuming employers pass this cut on), means debts will be harder to repay. And the self-employed are faring worse. Currently they can only claim £94 per week. Support schemes…
Read MoreWhy Traditional Financial Statements Don’t Work
Money comes in. Money goes out. Calculating disposable income is hard given our tendency to spend what we earn. The Office of National Statistics has found 3 in 10 households break even at best. In many of these cases there’s a budget deficit. Citizens Advice report that 5m British adults have less than £10 left…
Read MoreHow Being Nice can Skew Risk Appetite
We’re nice people in the credit union movement. We often ‘err’ on the side of accepting loans, especially where borrowing will really help members out of a tricky situation. This can knock our risk appetite out of line with expectations. In such circumstances bad debt costs run over budget. Members may want (and intend) to…
Read MoreSatsuma Goes Pear-Shaped (Slick Customer Experience Isn’t Enough)
Ten years ago I ran a focus group of low income borrowers to understand the impact the Government’s Growth Fund initiative had on credit union members. What suprised me was how much borrowers were willing to pay for convenience of service. I’d assumed that lower interest rates and weekly payments were enough. Removing friction in…
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