Customers turn to Provident Financial in credit squeeze
Lender Provident Financial this morning reported a 26.6 per cent jump in customers in the non-standard credit card market.
The FTSE 250 lender said customer numbers in the Vanquis Bank division, which provides credit to borrowers shunned by high-street banks, had reached 834,000 at the end of September, as the economy heaped pressure on the credit markets.
Meanwhile home credit customers were unchanged, Provident said, adding that customer behaviour remained cautious. Sales to existing customers was “subdued” over the quarter, owing to customers tightening their belts.
Peter Crook, chief executive of the lender, said today: “Credit quality is being reinforced by tight underwriting criteria and, as it enters its peak trading period, the group is on track to deliver good quality growth for 2012.”
Provident expects full-year results to be in line with expectations.