High cost credit report by Bristol University: government response
Government response to the Bristol report on capping the total cost of credit. Explains our commitment to curb unsustainable lending.
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Government response to the Bristol report on the impact of a cap on the total cost of credit.
In 2011, the government commissioned a report from the University of Bristol on the impact of a cap on the total cost of credit in the higher cost credit markets in the UK. The Bristol report considered three short term credit markets: payday lending (both retail and online), home credit and pawnbroking. The findings of this report will help to develop our evidence base on the fast-moving and growing high cost credit markets and the impact on consumers.
The government announced that responsibility for regulating consumer credit will transfer from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The FCA will be a dedicated and focused conduct regulator, with a substantial toolkit to identify and tackle misconduct in the credit sector. It will have greater powers than the OFT to take action against behaviour that harms consumers, and will be flexible in adapting to changing markets because of its ability to make binding rules quickly.
This government response sets out how the FCA will play a key role in tackling the Government’s concerns with the high cost credit sector.