The Analysis News & Opinions


Open Banking still an industry enigma


Opinion


British Steel’s insolvency: wide-spread effects


British Steel’s insolvency could be more wide-ranging than we imagine. The full ramifications of Britain’s second-


largest steel producer closing is that around 4,500 jobs are directly at risk, and endangered up to 20,000 more, in the supply chain. Around 4,000 jobs will be lost almost immediately if the firms, Scunthorpe plant is to close. Unfortunately, this could be the first


major casualty of a messy Brexit, and more could follow. We have been watching the situation at


British Steel unfold and we have seen this happen many times before. We know the problems and challenges


that result from the fallout of such a massive firm going under. As the fate of one of the largest companies


Open Banking remains an area of interest and challenge for creditors and collectors, according to senior industry professionals. Speaking at a CCRMagazine round-table


run in association with Qualco UK, Ian Rea, director of group compliance at Cabot Credit Management, said: “I think that we are probably a generation away before Open Banking becomes a valuable tool because of the various data-protection issues. People are just not willing to open up their current account in that way. “I think that we will get there, and


perhaps, the generation who are coming through now, who are used to sharing personal data much more than I ever was, because the facility was not there. “But as something that can help us, it is


another option and I would love to be able to turn it on straight away, but I think that we are 10, 15, or 20 years away from a position where this data is going to be reliably available for us to use.” Stuart Sykes, chief operating officer at


Castle Trust, added: “At the front end I can see very real applications right now, I have seen where is it being used very well in the mortgage sector for thin-file customers and high-net-worths; it has real applications there.


June 2019 “Of course, there is something of a


fishing-expedition of ‘if you give us this permission then you will probably get a better rate from a mortgage for a buy-to-let or certainly for some of the larger ones’. “At the back end is probably a bit


further away from being useful, but where companies are using it at the front end, if that customer gets into trouble, if they are already signed up to an open-ended contract, then you can do their I&E through Open Banking straightaway.” Frank Horvath, managing director of


Link Financial Outsourcing, added: “I think you are right: it is working at both ends at the moment. “You have the high-net-worth individuals


who want the best rate on a buy-to-let mortgage and then you have the guys who cannot get a loan anywhere else because their credit file is so bad. “There is an affordability question there, but


they are getting turned down by automatic lending decisions because they have a CCJ from two years ago. “Until the benefit of Open Banking


becomes monetised so that it goes right across the spectrum and everyone gets an uplift from giving you Open Banking access, there will still be that bottle-neck.”


www.CCRMagazine.com


in Lincolnshire has been confirmed, it will not only have a drastic impact on the local business community but also the national steel industry, an important part of the British economy and history. The collapse could be partially blamed on


‘a slump in orders from European customers amid uncertainty about potential trading arrangements with the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit’, according to sources involved in talks to save the company. Only last month, the company was


provided with a £120m loan by the government to pay an EU bill for carbon dioxide emissions. British Steel needed, and have subsequently failed, to raise £30m within 48 hours. As the firm cannot be saved, the knock-on effect from this will take some time to be fully felt. It is important that people and companies


that could be affected know what options are available to them. We urge people to seek professional


advice to help plan the best path forward.


Rick Smith Managing director, Forbes Burton


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