MorganAsh comments on BoE MPC decision
01 February 2024
MorganAsh provides the award-winning MorganAsh Resilience System (MARS) to enable brokers, advisers and financial services firms to better manage and evaluate consumer vulnerability and comply with Consumer Duty.
Andrew Gething, managing director of MorganAsh, said: “The decision to hold rates is as much a response to sticky inflation, wage growth and macro-challenges, as it is a way to tell businesses and economists to hold its horses. There’s no doubt that the overall sentiment has improved massively, with a positive outlook for the second half of the year. However, the bank has to carefully balance an improving picture with a re-acceleration in spending and any potential external shocks.
“Before any potential cut, businesses across financial services in particular must stay alive to the challenges facing their customers now in a higher interest environment. The potential for customers to find themselves in a vulnerable position is very real as research continues to show the proven link between lower income and income pressures with poor health. With Consumer Duty in force and the FCA prioritising a review of vulnerability across firms, businesses must have eyes on this situation, as well ensuring that they the necessary data and intelligence to prove to the regulator that they are delivering the right outcomes. That’s particularly true for the shocking number of firms still reporting that they have no vulnerable customers.
“Affordability remains a key challenge for the coming year, especially with high levels of mortgage maturity still expected. The potential impact this could have on available income and both health and lifestyle pressures is significant. Six months on from coming into force, Consumer Duty and the treatment of vulnerable customers is still an absolute priority – the regulator is certainly making sure of it.”
