Analysis: Britain s subprime lenders buckle under weight of complaints 933thedrive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 933thedrive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The firm, which specialises in loans for people who are deemed too risky by normal banks, blamed changing industry and regulatory dynamics for the poor performance of its home credit division.
BBC News
By Kevin Peachey
Published
image copyrightGetty Images
Fewer investigations into loan sharks have started during the coronavirus crisis despite violent threats against borrowers struggling to repay.
The pandemic has left people exposed to illegal money lending, but has also created practical difficulties for investigators.
Figures show falling numbers of new investigations compared with previous years in parts of the UK.
It comes as criminal lenders have been shaming non-payers on social media.
Covid effect
Each nation of the UK has specialist teams of investigators looking at illegal money lending.
They have warned that the financial uncertainty for individuals during Covid, as well as less appetite among traditional providers such as banks to lend, have led to loans sharks attempting to fill the gaps.
Klarna / WIRED
Last year could hardly have started better for Swedish buy now, pay later firm Klarna. After signing up a new retailer every seven minutes over the course of 2019, the business started 2020 from a position of strength. UK customer numbers had doubled, US numbers had grown sixfold and revenues had shot up by 31 per cent to $753 million.
Then Covid-19 hit and, as country after country went into lockdown, shops around the world were forced to close. Disastrous for many, it was exactly the kind of negative global event Klarna needed to thrive. As Klarna chief executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski wrote in the company’s 2020 interim accounts, the pandemic made its offering “more relevant than ever” as retailers shifted online.