Provident Financial reports pick-up in loan sales

DOORSTEP lender Provident Financial said a pick-up in sales of loans had continued and that the impact of government spending cuts and welfare reforms was likely to be limited.

By The Newsroom

Published 24th Nov 2010, 08:45 BST

"We believe that the proposed changes to benefits have a modest impact on our home credit customers," the Bradford-based company said in a statement.

The company said the capping of benefits that a family can receive at around 500 per week would affect less than 1 per cent of its Home Credit customers who will also not be hurt by cuts to child benefit for the better off.

For the 12 weeks since the beginning of September, Provident Financial said Home Credit loan sales were running about 7 per cent ahead of the same period last year.

The company said this was due to an increased focus on selling credit to existing customers and what it believes to be "increased visibility on their household incomes."

It described performance in terms of the company's ability to collect repayments on loans as stable.

Provident Financial Bradford