Second charge market steady over Q1 despite March slump

According to figures from the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) new business was down 10% by value and 13% by volume in March, compared with the same month in 2017.

In Q1 2018 as a whole, new business increased 1% by volume compared with the same quarter in 2017 and was unchanged in value at £244m.

Over the longer term, the sector has maintained its strong gains.

The value of new business in the 12 months to March was up 15% at £1.023bn with transaction numbers up 11% to 22,007.

Record business

Fluent for Advisers COO Tim Wheeldon (pictured) said he did not believe the March figures were a major concern.

“One month’s figures are not representative of a trend and while the month-on-month comparison shows a drop, the first quarter shows that the sector is ahead of last year.

“Our own experience at Fluent is that over the same period, we are registering record months with increasing volumes from our intermediary business.”

Quiet month

FLA head of consumer and mortgage finance Fiona Hoyle added: “March was a quieter month for the consumer credit markets in general. These latest figures show a stable picture for new business volumes in the first quarter overall.”

March was a quieter month in general for consumer finance, which includes, credit cards, car finance and retail store cards alongside second charge lending, according to the FLA.

New business overall was at a similar level to that reported in March 2017, and grew 6% in Q1 2018 as a whole.