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Last week I was thumbing through the latest edition of Credit Today, one of the journals I always try to read more thoroughly than any of the others, not only because it has a fairly good handle on the industry but also because a very good friend of mine, Fred Crawley, is the managing editor.

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So I was disappointed to see that a round table event had been held without my presence. I was more disappointed about the comments of the good and the great in the industry.

Motor finance currently runs at a massive £28 billion per annum and not only accounts for a slice of profit earned by the dealers but more important, and often overlooked, is that finance contributes heavily towards the sales of new cars, making it possible for consumers and small businesses to afford new cars rather than used cars.

The thrust of the debate was the effect of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations and the effect on the industry. Virtually everything that was raised was to do with us, being dealers or brokers and them, being the lenders. There was a complete dog’s dinner of comments, speculations and suggestions but guess what?

I couldn’t find one sentence that mentioned the potential problems to consumers and small businesses. There was a lot of sympathy and even empathy for the lenders but what about the bloody borrowers. Why is it that the Government, and virtually all of the consumer and small business finance industry, walk around with their heads firmly planted in their jacksys?

They continue to make bold statements, explaining how they are setting out to protect consumers and SME’s but when you want to finance a replacement fridge, TV, car or essential equipment for your business how does it help when the lender explains that you have failed the new FCA imposed affordability test?

And where will all this leave the economy, it’s a sad fact of life that when people borrow money from a payday lender they often need it for essentials or some sort of an emergency like the freezer breaking. Either way the money doesn’t sit around in a bank account – it is spent which continues to help the recovery.

Creating barriers to lending will flatline the economy and could send us back into recession. We are in sensitive times, we need finance to keep the economy moving forwards but I seem to be a lone voice in the wilderness. Only time will tell, lets hope that common sense prevails and lenders continue to do what they do best – lend bloody money! Rant over! By Graham Hill

Have you heard of log book loans? Do you know what they are? As more people find themselves out of work and desperate to raise some cash to pay bills or attend interviews they are looking at some of these grey areas of raising cash. There are of course the loan sharks that everyone should avoid but there is one area that seems to have an air of Read more »

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Been a busy week for me this week, had a board meeting of the NACFB, of which I’m a director on Tuesday 28^th followed by a lovely dinner, hosted by an old friend of the association, Bob Lefroy, editor of Business Money. This all took place at the Birmingham NEC Hilton Metropole and what a hotel that is. Amazing in size and activity. Add in a Neil Read more »

I’m going to send out some training soon, much of which will address some important car finance issues. One of the main subjects is APR, what it is, how it works and why it’s a complete waste of time. I am on a mission to change the way we look at finance in the UK and why I think that it is important to change attitudes. To give a little taster APR is Read more »

Banks are lending less to leasing companies making life even more difficult for small businesses to secure funding. As of 31^st March 2011 lending to the leasing companies was down by 16% from £28.4 billions the previous year to £23.8 billions. Leasing is seen by many small businesses as an alternative way to fund their vehicles and equipment as Read more »

Last week I reported on the shambles known as the EU Consumer Credit Directive that would, without doubt, cause widespread confusion amongst consumers and small businesses (who were included in the Consumer Credit Act but not in the CCD). Trying to get the message across to customers in dealerships would result in the blind leading the blind Read more »

We all know the expression ‘A little knowledge is a bad thing,’ and it couldn’t be more true at the moment in the area of car leasing. As small businesses and consumers look for ways to reduce their costs, car leasing is being discussed more and more, then armed with sketchy information many are embarking upon leasing without knowing exactly what they are getting into. This isn’t being helped by confusing and conflicting advertising on the Internet as well as some very strange promotions Read more »

The motor finance industry was to see a potential new broker association being formed that would concentrate on providing benefits to consumers and small business  operating predominantly in the retail sector. The NACFB (National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers) offered their support to any such initiative but when this came to my notice, as an ex director and president of the association, I saw a huge potential for the association and immediately got to work with the chief Read more »

If you are about to finance a car in your own name as opposed to through a business, you will need to allow a little extra time between ordering, signing the finance agreement and collection/delivery of the new car. According to the new EU Consumer Credit Directive all agreements that fall within the terms of our own Consumer Credit Act must be given a 14 day cooling off period. In the past, if you signed the agreement on trade premises, for example at a dealership or the premises of a broker Read more »

Finally got our price list out this week. There are a few deals starting to creep through but the manufacturers still have a way to go. Hopefully we will be following on the lead taken by the leasing companies in the US. They are launching some great incentives over there including no deposit and no first monthly payment (see last week’s blog). We are unlikely to see such aggressive pricing over here but hopefully the Read more »