Provident gains authorisation for HomeCredit and Satsuma
CREDIT LENDER Provident Financial has been informed by The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that its Home Credit and Satsuma businesses have been fully authorised.
Malcolm Le May, chief executive of the Bradford-based firm, said this is excellent news for customers and a testament to the improvements achieved in Home Credit during the past year from an operational and regulatory perspective.
“Under new leadership, Home Credit has successfully implemented a new operating model, delivering improved oversight and control over field activity and customer outcomes,” he said.
“Authorisation would not have been achieved without the hard work of Chris Gillespie, MD Consumer Credit Division, his senior leadership team and all their colleagues who at head office and in the field embraced change resulting in better outcomes for customers.”
He said that Home Credit, Satsuma and the rest of the group will work in partnership with the FCA to ensure they have viable businesses operating to the highest regulatory standards in the sector.
“Now that the authorisation process is concluded, the business intends to progress discussions with the FCA regarding the implementation of enhanced performance management of its customer experience managers based upon a balanced scorecard approach and some element of variable related pay,” he added.
“I look forward to continue working with Chris and his team as we develop and grow Home Credit and Satsuma, so not only will we be the biggest provider of home credit in the market, but also the best for customer outcomes and service.”
Provident is the leading provider of credit products to consumers who are not served by mainstream lenders. It serves 2.5 million customers and its operations consist of Vanquis Bank, the Consumer Credit Division (CCD) comprising Home Credit and Satsuma, and Moneybarn.
Last week, Provident announced that Chris Sweeney, managing director of Vanquis Bank, is stepping down from his role, but will remain employed until the end of April 2019 to assist with an orderly transition.
Mr Le May has become managing director of Vanquis Bank on an interim basis. The search for Mr Sweeney’s successor has already started.