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In Focus Consumer Credit


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Mr Wyman is very clear in arguing that the advice gap cannot be


sustainably met solely by a linear increase in funding. Debt-advice providers have to do their bit


through improving quality, and committing to ambitious efficiency improvements.


Improving efficiency Improving efficiency is at the heart of the report’s vision for a future debt-advice sector. Channel shift, avoiding duplication, closer


cooperation and smarter use of existing, and emerging, technologies are cited in a


strategic objective for free-to-client providers to commit to 20% efficiency savings over the next two years. This target is ambitious and, perhaps,


even aggressive. Crucially, it is achievable, continuing


(albeit at a faster pace) on a path that the free sector has been walking for the past few years. We hare already heavily invested in our


own transformation programme – a radical re-tooling of technology and ways of working that should leave us fit to meet the challenge that Mr Wyman describes.


If we are not focused on reducing harm and helping people regain control of their finances, then we are not about anything


Collaborative solutions It is also fair to say that the free-advice sector is already, step-by-step, finding value from collaborative solutions to the shared problem of meeting demand. Finally, the attention to quality is both


welcome and absolutely necessary to the Wyman Strategy. Driving up efficiency should never come at the expense of good client outcomes. If we are not focused on reducing harm


and helping people regain control of their finances, then we are not about anything.


Open questions The Financial Guidance and Claims Bill opened up questions about the need for setting and monitoring standards, and how this can be improved in an FCA-regulated environment. Mr Wyman gives a useful road map for progress here. However, better quality assurance is not


quite the same thing as delivering the right client outcomes. As we focus harder on efficiency, we gain


more understanding that some of our clients require more support, and this, in turn, needs to be reflected in sector funding models. This tension, between efficiency and


meeting diverse client needs, is being played out right now in the still emerging ‘vulnerable clients’ agenda – as seen in the FCA’s Financial Lives and Consumer Approach documents. This is the area where the Wyman Strategy


is underdeveloped. While efficiency gains can increase our capacity generally, they must also increase our ability to give our more vulnerable clients the support they need. CCR


26 www.CCRMagazine.com March 2018


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