When applying for any type of credit or finance, usually one of the main deciding factors as to whether you would be granted that is your credit score. There is an abundance of information on the internet all about credit scores and how they are worked out, and how much effect they actually have on people’s daily lives.
So what exactly is a credit score, and why is it so important?
When you apply for any kind of credit, most lenders will need some form of assurance that you are in a position to repay the money they have lent you, including any interest. To help them assess this, they collect information and calculate a credit score. Generally, the higher the score, the lower the risk it is for them to give you credit.
Evolution Money took it upon themselves to research and collate all the important pieces of information when it came to credit scores, and arranged them in a colourful and easy to read infographic.
About the Infographic
The infographic attempts to explain the journey of a credit rating, in terms of where credit scores come from, how they are used and by whom, and what needs to be kept in mind when discussing credit scores.
It also looks at what are the factors that have the most effect on credit ratings, and what are the potential ways that a credit score can be improved.
You can view the original Infographic here:
Evolution Money is thrilled to be appearing at the Financial Services Expo (FSE) in Glasgow on March 4th. It is the first time the FSE has been located north of the border and marks the increasing popularity and recognition within the Financial Services industry of the series of high-profile annual events.
Following Evolution Money’s recent Loan Talk Awards win for Best Adverse Secured Loan Product, the inaugural Glasgow event, held at the centrally located Hilton Hotel, kicks of the Expo season for Evolution Money. The award winning lender will also be appearing at the Manchester Expo to be held at The Emirates Old Trafford (20 May), and the London Expo which is taking place at Old Billingsgate later in the year (16th and 17th September).
Recognising a growing market in Scotland, Evolution Money have chosen the event to launch their range of new finance products and offers to business introducers.
These include: Homeowner Restricted Equity Loan, Homeowner Equity Loan, Unsecured Personal Loan for Homeowners and an innovative and unique Buy-To Let Loan product which will offer landlords the opportunity to release equity in their properties up to 90% (LTV)
Rhian Roberts: Head of Evolution Money’s Business Development Team commented:
“We are very much looking forward to showcasing our new ground-breaking range of customer-focused products and business introducer benefits at the inaugural Glasgow event. Having attending a number of FS Expos, they get bigger and better and have become a ‘not to be missed’ financial services industry event. Evolution Money are proud to be involved”
Come along to the Hilton Hotel on March 4th, meet the team and find out what opportunities exist as an introducer, referrer or partner. The team are looking forward to forging new working relationships and excited to highlight the benefits the wider financial referral network can gain from working alongside the increasingly successful brand.
Find out more about FSE Glasgow 2015 here: http://www.financialservicesexpo.co.uk/fse-glasgow/
Interest rates in the UK have remained as low as 0.5 per cent for six years. The Bank of England first cut the rate to its current level in March 2009, in a bid to boost the economy during the credit crunch.
Recent economic growth has led to speculation that the Bank has plans to raise the cost of borrowing money in the near future. However, inflation is very low, at 0.3 per cent, and so the Bank’s policy makers are unlikely to increase the interest rate for some time yet.
Inflation is likely to remain low and may even turn negative in the late spring, chiefly because the cost of oil has almost halved since last summer.
Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, has spoken of reducing interest rates still further if prices fail to rise over the coming months. He predicts that they will start to increase by the end of this year.
The problem with falling prices is that consumers often put off buying expensive goods in the hope that prices will fall further. Seventy per cent of the British economy is dependent on consumer activity and so a slowdown in sales inevitably has a dramatic effect on economic growth.
Senior economic advisor, Martin Beck of the EY Item Club, believes that the next interest rate rise will not come until early 2016, when inflation should be above 1 per cent and likely to reach the Bank’s target of 2 per cent.
Chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, David Kern, called on the Bank to state its intentions clearly, adding that many British exporters are already suffering because the pound is so strong against the euro and that higher interest rates would only worsen the situation. Should the Bank make it clear that it has no plans to raise interest rates until 2016, confidence would increase, he said.
Millions of people will be able to gain access to their pension funds from the start of the next tax year, on April 6. The minister in charge of the move, Steve Webb, has said that many pensioners might leave themselves without enough money for their old age, but that this is a ‘calculated risk.’
‘Pension freedom day’ as it is becoming known, will allow people over the age of 55 to do whatever they want with their pension, rather than having to buy an annuity.
In an interview with The Observer newspaper, Steve Webb said that he realises it is a risk to allow people the freedom to do what they want with their own money. Full control might be safer but that has led to compulsory annuities and many very dissatisfied pensioners.
The average length of retirement is 25 years but, as figures from the insurance company Zurich show, fifty per cent of people believe that they will need their retirement fund for only 20 years or even less.
However, Steve Webb believes that although many people may choose to spend all of their pension pot ten or even twenty years before they die, this is not necessarily the wrong thing to do. Perhaps they will enjoy spending their pension pot and then live on the state pension and, perhaps, some other savings. That may even be the best outcome, he said.
Mr Webb also downplayed fears that the pension industry will not be ready for pension freedom day on April 6. A number of insurance companies have already said that they are not willing or ready to allow savers full access to their money next month. Some companies, for example, will not be allowing savers to withdraw their funds gradually, so forcing them to take their pot out in one go and pay a huge tax bill or buy an annuity.
The number of adults saving money in a workplace pension scheme is higher than it has been in seventeen years, reversing the trend of decreasing participation which began in the 1990s.
The reason for the huge boost in numbers saving through a company pension is that a large number of young people in their twenties have now joined their workplace scheme.
In 2013, fifty per cent of all employees saved for their retirement. By 2014, this figure had grown to 59 per cent, figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed. Although all age groups have contributed to the increase, the biggest leap in numbers was among young people in their twenties. Fifty three per cent of 22 to 29 year olds are now saving into their company pensions, compared to 36 per cent in 2013.
The increase is chiefly due to the government’s automatic enrolment programme which was introduced at the end of 2012. Employers are now compelled to enrol all their employees over the age of 21, who are earning more than £8,000 per annum, into workplace pension schemes.
According to Nigel Stanley, TUC’s head of campaigns, auto-enrolment has been a big success. Like the minimum wage, auto-enrolment was unpopular with employers when it was first introduced but has now been accepted. However, he added that the rules concerning levels of contribution were not sufficient to give people a ‘decent’ income at retirement.
Auto-enrolment will be fully implemented by 2018 when the minimum contribution will be 8 per cent of employee earnings, three per cent of which will be contributed by the employer. At present, employees are only paying one per cent of their salary and employers pay only a further one per cent.
There is also an increase in those who do not qualify for auto-enrolment, such as part time workers and 16 to 21 year olds choosing to save for retirement.
Think carefully before securing debts against your home your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other loan secured against it. If you are thinking of consolidating existing borrowing, you should be aware that you may be extending the terms of the debt and increasing the total amount you repay.
